Sample records for diamond-like carbon coating

This paper reviewed the infrared uses of diamond-likecarbon thin films and the potential uses of synthetic diamond layers. Diamond-likecarbon is used widely as a protective anti-reflection coating for exposed germanium infrared windows and lenses and as thin protective coatings for front surface aluminium mirrors. This material is also used in protective anti-reflective coatings for zinc sulphide as the outer thin film in multi-layer designs incorporating variable index intermediate layers of germanium carbide. The maximum thickness of diamond-likecarbon that can be used is often limited by the stress induced in the layer through the method of deposition and by the absorption present in the basic material. This stress and absorption can be far lower in synthetic diamond layers but there are now problems associated with the high substrate temperatures, difficulties in coating large areas uniformly and problems arising from surface scattering and low deposition rates.

A plasma-based method for the deposition of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings is described. The process uses a radio-frequency inductively coupled discharge to generate a plasma at relatively low gas pressures. The deposition process is environmentally friendly and scaleable to large areas, and components that have geometrically complicated surfaces can be processed. The method has been used to deposit adherent 100-400 nm thick DLC coatings on metals, glass, and polymers. These coatings are between three and four times harder than steel and are therefore scratch resistant, and transparent to visible light. Boron and silicon doping of the DLC coatings have produced coatings having improved optical properties and lower coating stress levels, but with slightly lower hardness.

There is great demand for thin functional coatings in the semiconductor, optics, electronics, medical, automotive and aerospace industries [1-13]. As fabricated components become smaller and more complex, the properties of the materials’ surface take on greater importance. Thin coatings play a key role in tailoring surfaces to give them the desired hardness, wear resistance, chemical inertness, and electrical characteristics. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings possess an array of desirable properties, including outstanding abrasion and wear resistance, chemical inertness, hardness, a low coefficient of friction and exceptionally high dielectric strength [14-22]. Diamond-likecarbon is considered to be an amorphous material, containing a mixture of sp2 and sp3 bonded carbon. Based on the percentage of sp3 carbon and the hydrogen content, four different types of DLC coatings have been identified: tetrahedral carbon (ta-C), hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) hard, a-C:H soft, and hydrogenated tetrahedral carbon (ta-C:H) [20,24,25]. Possessing the highest hardness of 80 GPa, ta-C possesses an sp3 carbon content of 80 to 88u%, and no appreciable hydrogen content whereas a-C:H soft possesses a hardness of less than 10 GPa, contains an sp3 carbon content of 60% and a hydrogen content between 30 to 50%. Methods used to deposit DLC coatings include ion beam deposition, cathodic arc spray, pulsed laser ablation, argon ion sputtering, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition [73-83]. Researchers contend that several advantages exist when depositing DLC coatings in a low-pressure environment. For example, ion beam processes are widely utilized since the ion bombardment is thought to promote denser sp3-bonded carbon networks. Other processes, such as sputtering, are better suited for coating large parts [29,30,44]. However, the deposition of DLC in a vacuum system has several disadvantages, including high equipment cost and restrictions on the size and shape of

Owing to its superior tribological and mechanical properties with corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and hemocompatibility, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has emerged as a promising material for biomedical applications. DLC films with various atomic bond structures and compositions are finding places in orthopedic, cardiovascular, and dental applications. Cells grew on to DLC coating without any cytotoxity and inflammation. DLC coatings in orthopedic applications reduced wear, corrosion, and debris formation. DLC coating also reduced thrombogenicity by minimizing the platelet adhesion and activation. However, some contradictory results (Airoldi et al., Am J Cardiol 2004;93:474-477, Taeger et al., Mat-wiss u Werkstofftech 2003;34:1094-1100) were also reported that no significant improvement was observed in the performance of DLC-coated stainless stent or DLC-coated femoral head. This controversy should be discussed based on the detailed information of the coating such as atomic bond structure, composition, and/or electronic structure. In addition, instability of the DLC coating caused by its high level of residual stress and poor adhesion in aqueous environment should be carefully considered. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are thus required to confirm its use for medical devices. PMID:17285609

Growth stress in tungsten carbide-diamond-likecarboncoatings, sputter deposited in a reactive argon/acetylene plasma, has been studied as a function of the acetylene partial pressure. Stress and microstructure have been investigated by wafer curvature and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) whereas composition and energy distribution functions of positive ions were obtained by electron probe microanalyzer, elastic recoil detection analysis, and mass-energy analyzer (MEA). It has been observed that the compressive stress decreases with increasing acetylene partial pressure, showing an abrupt change from -5.0 to -1.6 GPa at an acetylene partial pressure of 0.012 Pa. TEM micrographs show that by increasing the acetylene partial pressure in the plasma from 0 to 0.012 Pa, the microstructure of the coating changes from polycrystalline to amorphous. MEA results show that the most probable energy of positive ions bombarding the substrate during deposition in pure argon and argon/acetylene atmosphere is the same. Based on the results, it is concluded that the huge variation in the compressive stress at low acetylene partial pressures is due to a change in the microstructure of the coating from polycrystalline to amorphous and not to the energy of positive ions bombarding the film.

The present invention is directed to a nanotube coated with diamond or diamond-likecarbon, a field emitter cathode comprising same, and a field emitter comprising the cathode. It is also directed to a method of preventing the evaporation of carbon from a field emitter comprising a cathode comprised of nanotubes by coating the nanotube with diamond or diamond-likecarbon. In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of preventing the evaporation of carbon from an electron field emitter comprising a cathode comprised of nanotubes, which method comprises coating the nanotubes with diamond or diamond-likecarbon.

Dense diamond-like hydrocarbon films grown at the NASA Lewis Research Center by radio frequency self bias discharge and by direct ion beam deposition were studied. A new method for categorizing hydrocarbons based on their atomic number density and elemental composition was developed and applied to the diamond-like hydrocarbon films. It was shown that the diamond-like hydrocarbon films are an entirely new class of hydrocarbons with atomic number densities lying between those of single crystal diamond and adamantanes. In addition, a major review article on these new materials was completed in cooperation with NASA Lewis Research Center personnel.

It is presented the results of implantation of meshendoprostheses with and without carboncoating for surgical treatment of abdominal hernias in experiment and clinical practice. It was shown that diamond-likecarboncoating minimizes primary tissue reaction against foreign material and provides complete implant's biological integration into subcutaneous connective tissue as are active encapsulation with connective tissue. Suggested meshendoprostheses with diamond-likecarboncoating decrease local inflammatory reaction in operated area and thereby reduce number of exudative complications in early postoperative period. PMID:26031953

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is an amorphous form of carbon which resembles diamond in its hardness, lubricity, and interest for hardness, lubricity, and resistance to chemical attack. Such properties make DLC of use in barrier and hard coating technology. This report examines a variety of properties of DLC coatings which are relevant to its use as a protective coating. This includes examining substrates on which DLC coatings can be deposited; the resistance of DLC coatings to various chemical agents; adhesion of DLC coatings; and characterization of DLC coatings by electron microscopy, FTIR, sputter depth profiling, stress measurements, and nanoindentation.

A detailed investigation of the tribological behaviour of vacuum arc diamond-likecarboncoated Ti-6Al-4V against a medical grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is conducted in this work in order to investigate the potential use of diamond-likecarboncoatings for orthopaedic appplications. Lubricated and non-lubricated wear experiments are performed using a standard pin-on-disc wear tester. The coefficient of friction is monitored continuously during testing and wear rate calculations are performed using surface profilometry measurements of worn disc surfaces. Sliding wear tests show the existence of two distinct friction and wear regimes distinguished by physically different mechanisms. In the first stages of wear, adhesion and abrasion are the dominant mechanisms of wear while fatigue processes are activated later in the tests. The effects of diamond-likecarboncoating structure, surface roughness and lubrication on tribological behaviour are presented. Optimal process-structure-property design for vacuum arc plasma deposition is utilized in order to obtain strong adhesion to the titanium alloy substrate. Diamond-likecarboncoatings significantly improve the friction and wear performance of the orthopaedic bearing pair and show exceptional promise for biomedical applications. PMID:15347929

The current status of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings for biomedical applications is reviewed with emphasis on load-bearing coatings. Although diamond-likecarboncoating materials have been studied for decades, no indisputably successful commercial biomedical applications for high load situations exist today. High internal stress, leading to insufficient adhesion of thick coatings, is the evident reason behind this delay of the break-through of DLC coatings for applications. Excellent adhesion of thick DLC coatings is of utmost importance for load-bearing applications. According to this review superior candidate material for articulating implants is thick and adherent DLC on both sliding surfaces. With the filtered pulsed arc discharge method, all the necessary requirements for the deposition of thick and adherent DLC are fulfilled, provided that the substrate material is selected properly. PMID:19478929

The current status of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings for biomedical applications is reviewed with emphasis on load-bearing coatings. Although diamond-likecarboncoating materials have been studied for decades, no indisputably successful commercial biomedical applications for high load situations exist today. High internal stress, leading to insufficient adhesion of thick coatings, is the evident reason behind this delay of the break-through of DLC coatings for applications. Excellent adhesion of thick DLC coatings is of utmost importance for load-bearing applications. According to this review superior candidate material for articulating implants is thick and adherent DLC on both sliding surfaces. With the filtered pulsed arc discharge method, all the necessary requirements for the deposition of thick and adherent DLC are fulfilled, provided that the substrate material is selected properly. PMID:19478929

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is an amorphous form of carbon which resembles diamond in its hardness, lubricity, and resistance to chemical attack. Such properties make DLC of interest for use in barrier and hard coating technology. This report examines a variety of properties of DLC coatings. This includes examining substrates on which DLC coatings can be deposited; the resistance of DLC coatings to various chemical agents; adhension of DLC coatings; and characterization of DLC coatings by electron microscopy, FTIR, sputter depth profiling, stress measurements and nanoindentation.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings are known to have extremely low wear in many technical applications. The application of DLC as a coating has aimed at lowering wear and to preventing wear particle-induced osteolysis in artificial hip joints. In a medical study femoral heads coated with diamond-like amorphous carbon, a subgroup of DLC, articulating against polyethylene cups were implanted between 1993 and 1995. Within 8.5 years about half of the hip joints had to be revised due to aseptic loosening. The explanted femoral heads showed many spots of local coating delamination. Several of these explanted coated TiAlV femoral heads have been analyzed to investigate the reason for this failure. Raman analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling showed that the coating consists of diamond-like amorphous carbon, several Si-doped layers and an adhesion-promoting Si interlayer. Focused ion beam (FIB) transverse cuts revealed that the delamination of the coatings is caused by in vivo corrosion of the Si interlayer. Using a delamination test set-up dissolution of the silicon adhesion-promoting interlayer at a speed of more than 100 μm year(-1) was measured in vitro in solutions containing proteins. Although proteins are not directly involved in the corrosion reactions, they can block existing small cracks and crevices under the coating, hindering the exchange of liquid. This results in a build-up of crevice corrosion conditions in the crack, causing a slow dissolution of the Si interlayer. PMID:22521966

Various techniques are currently used to produce diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on various materials. Many of these techniques use metallic interlayers, such as Ti or Si, to improve the adhesion of a DLC coating to a ferrous substrate. An alternative processing route would be to use plasma source ion implantation (PSII) to create a carbon composition gradient in the surface of the ferrous material to serve as the interface for a DLC coating. The need for interlayer deposition is eliminated by using a such a graded interfaces PSII approach has been used to form adherent DLC coatings on magnesium, aluminum, silicon, titanium, chromium, brass, nickel, and tungsten. A PSII process tailored to create a graded interface allows deposition of adherent DLC coatings even on metals that exhibit a positive heat of formation with carbon, such as magnesium, iron, brass and nickel.

Tungsten-containing diamondlikecarbon (W-C:H) coatings were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBM) using tungsten carbide targets in Ar/C2H2 atmosphere. The structure and mechanical properties of these coatings with different C2H2 flow (from 40 sccm to 140 sccm) were studied. According to the analysis of Raman spectroscopy and the measurement of hardness and Young's modulus about the coatings, it was showed that sp3/sp2 ratio in the coatings changed and the hardness and Young's modulus decreased with increase of the C2H2 flow. Besides, the adhension and friction wear properties of the coatings were evaluated using the scratch test and dry sliding tests respectively. It was found that the coatings exhibited very good adhension and the C2H2 flow (actually the hydrogen) played a very important role in the tribological behavior of the W-C:H coatings in vacuum.

Surface engineering through the application of super-hard, low-friction coatings as a potential approach for increasing the durability of metal-on-metal replacements is attracting significant attention. In this study innovative design strategies are proposed for the development of diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coatings against the damage caused by wear particles on the joint replacements. Finite element modeling is used to analyze stress distributions induced by wear particles of different sizes in the newly-designed coating in comparison to its conventional monolithic counterpart. The critical roles of architectural design in regulating stress concentrations and suppressing crack initiation within the coatings is elucidated. Notably, the introduction of multilayer structure with graded modulus is effective in modifying the stress field and reducing the magnitude and size of stress concentrations in the DLC diamond-like-carboncoatings. The new design is expected to greatly improve the load-carrying ability of surface coatings on prosthetic implants, in addition to the provision of damage tolerance through crack arrest. PMID:23623097

Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) coatings posses high hardness and low friction coefficient and also biocompatible, hence, they are of interest for enhancing the wear and corrosion resistance of bio-implant materials. Beta stabilized titanium alloys are attractive for biomedical applications because of their high specific strength and low modulus. In this work Beta-21S alloy (Ti-15Mo-3Nb-3Al-0.2Si) was implanted with carbon ions by plasma immersion ion implantation using methane and hydrogen gas mixture followed by DLC deposition by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). The implanted layers enabled deposition of adherent diamond-likecarboncoatings on the titanium alloy which was otherwise not possible. The corrosion behavior of the treated and untreated samples was investigated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization studies in simulated body fluid (Hank's solution). XPS, micro Raman and EDAX investigation of the samples showed the formation of a thin oxide layer on the treated samples after corrosion experiments. Corrosion resistance of the DLC coated sample is comparable with that of the untreated samples. Electrochemical impedance data of the substrate and implanted samples were fitted with two time constant equivalent circuits and that of DLC coated samples with two-layer model.

The first major event when a medical device comes in contact with blood is the adsorption of plasma proteins. Protein adsorption on the material surface leads to the activation of the blood coagulation cascade and the inflammatory process, which impair the lifetime of the material. Various efforts have been made to minimize protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. Recently, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has received much attention because of their antithrombogenicity. We recently reported that coating silicon substrates with fluorine-doped diamond-likecarbon (F-DLC) drastically suppresses platelet adhesion and activation. Here, we evaluated the protein adsorption on the material surfaces and clarified the relationship between protein adsorption and platelet behaviors, using polycarbonate and DLC- or F-DLC-coated polycarbonate. The adsorption of albumin and fibrinogen were assessed using a colorimetric protein assay, and platelet adhesion and activation were examined using a differential interference contrast microscope. A higher ratio of albumin to fibrinogen adsorption was observed on F-DLC than on DLC and polycarbonate films, indicating that the F-DLC film should prevent thrombus formation. Platelet adhesion and activation on the F-DLC films were more strongly suppressed as the amount of fluorine doping was increased. These results show that the F-DLC coating may be useful for blood-contacting devices. PMID:17600326

The acid resistance of tantalum coated and uncoated human hip joint prostheses was studied with commercial CrCoMo acetabular cups. The samples were exposed to 10% HCl solution and the quantities of dissolved Cr, Co, and Mo were measured with proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The absolute quantities were obtained with the use of Cr and Se solution standards. Tantalum coatings (thicknesses 4-6 microm) were prepared in vacuum with magnetron sputtering. Tantalum coating decreased the corrosion rate by a factor of 10(6). As a spinoff from recent wear tests on artificial hip joints it was shown that tantalum has excellent mechanical properties as an intermediate layer of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings. When tantalum was tested together with DLC on three metal-on-metal hip joint pairs in a hip simulator, no observable defects occurred during 15 million walking cycles with a periodic 50-300-kg load (Paul curve). PMID:12808604

This article provides a simple method for coating glass micropipettes with diamond-likecarbon (DLC) through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The apparatus uses a cathode that is a thin-metal-coated micropipette itself and an anode that is a meshed cylinder with its cylinder axis along the micropipette length. To produce a uniform plasma and prevent a temperature increase at the tip due to ion collision concentration, we investigated the effect of the height and diameter of the meshed cylindrical anode on the plasma. Intermittent deposition is also effective for inhibiting the temperature rise and producing high quality DLC films. Measured Raman spectra and electric resistivity indicate that a DLC film suitable for use as an insulating film can be produced on the micropipette. This coating method should also be useful for other extremely small probes.

In this study we report on the dependence of electron emission properties on the transmission photocathodes DC gun based on stainless steel mesh coated with diamondlikecarbon films prepared at various technological conditions. Diamondlikecarbon films were deposited on the stainless steel mesh and silicon substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from gas mixtures CH4+D2+Ar, CH4+H2+Ar and reactive magnetron sputtering using a carbon target and gas mixtures Ar+D2, Ar+H2. The concentration of elements in films was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and elastic recoil detection (ERD) analytical methods simultaneously. Chemical compositions were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Raman spectroscopy at visible excitation wavelength was used for the intensity ratio determination of Gaussian fit D-peak and G-peak of Raman spectra. The quantum efficiency was calculated from the measured laser energy and the measured cathode charge. The quantum efficiency of a prepared transmission photocathode was increased with increasing intensity ratio of D-peak and G-peak, which was increased by adding deuterium to the gas mixture and using technology reactive magnetron sputtering.

Hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon films (a-C:H DLC) were deposited on STS 304 substrates for the fabrication of vascular stents by means of the r.f. plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique. This study provides reliable and quantitative data for the assessment of the effect of strain on the corrosion performance of DLC-coated systems in the simulated body fluid obtained through electrochemical techniques (potentiodynamic polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and surface analysis (scanning electron microscopy). The electrolyte used in this test was 0.89% NaCl solution at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C. It was found that the corrosion resistance of the plastically deformed DLC coating was insufficient for use as a protective film in a corrosive body environment. This is due to the increase in the delamination area and degradation of the substrate's corrosion properties with increasing tensile deformation. PMID:17896779

Plasma source ion implantation (PSII) is a non line of sight process for implanting complex shaped targets without the need for complex fixturing. The breakdown initiation of materials coated with diamond-likecarbon (DLC) produced by PSII occurs at defects in the DLC which expose the underlying material. To summarize these findings, a galvanic couple is established between the coating and exposed material at the base of the defect. Pitting and oxidation of the base and metal leads to the development of mechanical stress in the coating and eventually spallation of the coating. This paper presents our current progress in attempting to mitigate the breakdown of these coatings by implanting the parent material prior to coating with DLC. Ideally one would like to implant the parent material with chromium or molybdenum which are known to improve corrosion resistance, however, the necessary organometallics needed to implant these materials with PSII are not yet available. Here we report on the effects of carbon, nitrogen, and boron implantation on the susceptibility of PSII-DLC coated mild steel to breakdown.

We observe unexpected wear increase on a steel surface that rubbed against diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings only when lubricated by phosphate-based antiwear additives. Contrary to the literature hypothesis of a competition between zinc dialkyldithiophosphate produced tribofilms and DLC-induced carbon transfer, here a new wear mechanism based on carbon-catalyzed tribochemical interactions supported by surface characterization is proposed

Si- and N-doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings with various Si and N contents were deposited on glass slides using magnetron sputter ion-plating and plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Surface energy analysis of the DLC coatings revealed that with increasing Si content, the electron acceptor gamma(s)(+) value decreased while the electron donor gamma(s)(-) value increased. The antifouling property of DLC coatings was evaluated with the bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, which is one of the most common microorganisms forming biofilms on the surface of heat exchangers in cooling water systems. P. fluorescens had a high value of the gamma(s)(-) component (69.78 mN m(-1)) and a low value of the gamma(s)(+) component (5.97 mN m(-1)), and would be negatively charged with the zeta potential of -16.1 mV. The experimental results showed that bacterial removal by a standardised washing procedure increased significantly with increasing electron donor gamma(s)(-) values and with decreasing electron acceptor gamma(s)(+) values of DLC coatings. The incorporation of 2%N into the Si-doped DLC coatings further significantly reduced bacterial attachment and significantly increased ease of removal. The best Si-N-doped DLC coatings reduced bacterial attachment by 58% and increased removal by 41%, compared with a silicone coating, Silastic T2. Bacterial adhesion strength on the DLC coatings is explained in terms of thermodynamic work of adhesion. PMID:19283517

Two diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings are prepared on stainless steel 304 by cathodic arc plasma deposition technology at different substrate bias voltages and arc currents (-200 V/80 A, labeled DLC-1, and -100 V/60 A, labeled DLC-2). Cavitation tests are performed by using a rotating-disk test rig to explore the cavitation erosion resistance of the DLC coating. The mass losses, surface morphologies, chemical compositions and the phase constituents of the specimens after cavitation tests are examined by using digital balance, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The results indicate that the DLC-2 coatings can elongate the incubation period of stainless steel, leading to an excellent cavitation erosion resistance as compared to the untreated stainless steel specimens. After duration of 100 h cavitation test, serious damaged surfaces and plenty of scratches can be observed on the surfaces of the stainless steel specimens, while only a few grooves and tiny pits are observed on the DLC-2 coatings. It is concluded that, decreasing micro defects and increasing adhesion can reduce the delamination of DLC coating, and the erosion continues in the stainless steel substrate after DLC coating failure, and the eroded surface of the substrate is subjected to the combined action from cavitation erosion and slurry erosion.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has remarkable mechanical and tribological properties. Besides those mechanical properties, it has been clarified that DLC shows high biocompatibility in recent years. DLC coating can give high strength, abrasion resistance, and biocompatibility for surface of substrates. Hence DLC is a candidate for the coating material for medical devices such as artificial organ, joint, catheter, etc. The objective of this study is to develop safety protection films for implantable medical polymer devices utilizing segment-structured DLC (S-DLC) coatings. S-DLC and continuous-structured DLC were deposited on polyurethane and nylon sheet for balloon catheters. As a result, friction coefficient of DLC coated polyurethane sheet was approximately one-sixth of that of pristine polyurethane sheet, and S-DLC showed very low friction coefficient of μ=0.1-0.15. DLC coating can prevent polyurethane sheet from worn out. The puncture-resistance of nylon sheets increased 0.2MPa on average by DLC coatings regardless of the film structure. It was confirmed that DLC inhibits adsorption of blood coagulation factor. In conclusion, we succeed to verify that these DLC films can improve tribological property, abrasion-resistance, puncture-resistance, and anti-thrombogenicity of polymer catheters. Moreover, segment-structured DLC films exhibits high performance for protection of polymer material for polymer catheters.

The velocity dependence of coefficient of friction (CoF) of hydrogen-free and hydrogenated DiamondLikeCarbon (DLC) coatings was studied on sliding. In low velocity regime, CoF of hydrogen-free DLC was found to increase which may be linked to a thermally activated pre-mature breaking of the surface asperities. However, CoF of hydrogenated DLC was found to decrease due to formation of graphite like lubricious layer and sustainability of cross-linked network of H-bonded atoms. In high velocity regime, CoF of hydrogen free DLC increases marginally due to an inefficient transfer of thermal energy while that of hydrogenated DLC increases due to rapid formation and rupture of atomic bonds.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films have attracted much attention in many industrial fields because of their excellent tribological properties, high hardness, chemical inertness and biocompatibility. In order to examine the fatigue properties and to clear the fracture mechanism of DLC coated materials, AISI4140 steel coated with DLC films by using unbalanced magnetron sputtering method was prepared and two types of fatigue test were carried out by using a tension and compression testing machine with stress ratio -1 and a bending testing machine with stress ratio -1 with a focused on the fatigue crack behavior in detail. The fracture origin changed from the slip deformation to micro defects at surface whose size didn't affect the fatigue crack initiation behavior in the case of Virgin series because the hard coating like DLC films make the defect sensitivity of coated material higher. However, DLC series indicated higher fatigue strengths in finite life region and fatigue limit compared with Virgin series. From the continuously observation by using a plastic replicas technique, it is clear that there are no noticeable differences on fatigue crack propagation rate between the Virgin and DLC series, however the fatigue crack initiation of DLC series was delayed significantly by existence of DLC films compared with Virgin series.

Staphylococci cause the majority of the nosocomial implant-related infections initiated by adhesion of planktonic bacteria to the implant surface. It was hypothesized that plasma accelerating filtered pulsed arc discharge method enables combination of the advantageous properties of diamond with the antisoiling properties of polymers. Diamond-likecarbon polytetrafluoroethylene hybrid (DLC-PTFE-h) coating was produced. The adhesion of S. aureus ATCC 25923 (10(8) colony-forming units/mL) to surfaces diminished from 2.32%, 2.35%, and 2.57% of high quality DLC, titanium, and oxidized silicon, respectively, to 1.93% of DLC-PTFE-h. For S. epidermidis ATCC 35984 the corresponding figures were 3.90%, 3.32%, 3.47%, and 2.57%. Differences in bacterial adhesion between recombinant DLC-PTFE-h and other materials were statistically significant (p < 0.05). In contrast, human Caco-2 cells adhered as well to DLC-PTFE-h as to DLC, titanium, or silicon, which were all in the MTT test found to be cytocompatible. DLC-PTFE-h coating can be used to modify the surface properties of any surgical implants and is an unfavorable substrate for staphylococcal cells, but compatible with human Caco-2 cells. DLC-PTFE-h coating may help in the combat against Staphylococcus-related implant infections which usually require both antibiotics and surgical removal of the implant for cure. PMID:18041722

This work presents an application of reactive ion etching (RIE) for effective tuning of spectral response and the refractive-index (RI) sensitivity of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) nano-coated long-period gratings (LPGs). The technique allows for an efficient and well controlled etching of the DLC by means of O2 and CF4 plasma. The effect of DLC nanocoating etching on spectral properties of the LPGs is discussed. We correlated the decrease in DLC thickness with the shift of the LPG resonance wavelength. The thinning of the overlay effectively changes the distribution of the cladding modes and thus it also has an impact on the device's RI sensitivity. The advantage of this approach is a capability for post-processing of the nano-coated structures with a good precision (etching rate from 4.6 to 8.1 nm/min for O2 plasma), cleaning the samples and their re-coating according to requested needs.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) is an environmentally friendly process used to deposit a variety of nano-structured coatings for the protection or the surface modification of metallic artefacts like the SiO2-like films that have been successfully tested on ancient silver, bronze and iron artefacts as barriers against aggressive agents. This paper deals with the preliminary results of a wider investigation aimed to the development of eco-sustainable coatings for the protection of Cu and Ag-based artefacts of archaeological and historic interest. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings have been deposited by PECVD in different experimental conditions, in a capacitively coupled asymmetric plasma reactor, placing the substrates either on electrically powered electrode (cathodic mode) or grounded electrode (anodic mode) with and without hydrogen addition in the gas mixture. The final goal is to develop a coating with good protective effectiveness against aggressive atmospheres and contemporarily with negligible effects on the aesthetic appearance of the artefacts. The evaluation of possible colour changes of the surface patinas, due to coating process, was performed by optical microscopy and colorimetric measurements. Furthermore, to evaluate the reversibility of the thin DLC layer, an etching treatment in oxygen plasma has been successfully carried out and optimized. The chemical-physical characterization of the deposited DLC coatings was performed by means of the combined use of micro-Raman and XPS spectroscopies. The results show that the DLC films obtained in the anodic mode, may be proposed as a viable alternative to polymeric coatings for the protection of metallic ancient objects.

This CRADA was intended to investigate and optimize the process used by ASTEX-PlasmaQuest for deposition of diamond-likecarbon films. Approval for funding was delayed, and an unexpected move of the PlasmaQuest headquarters and research facilities prevented appropriate samples from being prepared before the end of the CRADA. Therefore, No effort was expended under this program.

This study investigated the effects of a diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating on frictional and mechanical properties of orthodontic brackets. DLC films were deposited on stainless steel brackets using the plasma-based ion implantation/deposition (PBIID) method under two different atmospheric conditions. As-received metal brackets served as the control. Two sizes of stainless steel archwires, 0.018 inch diameter and 0.017 × 0.025 inch cross-section dimensions, were used for measuring static and kinetic friction by drawing the archwires through the bracket slots, using a mechanical testing machine (n = 10). The DLC-coated brackets were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Values of hardness and elastic modulus were obtained by nanoindentation testing (n = 10). Friction forces were compared by one-way analysis of variance and the Scheffé test. The hardness and elastic modulus of the brackets were compared using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests. SEM photomicrographs showed DLC layers on the bracket surfaces with thickness of approximately 5-7 μm. DLC-coated brackets deposited under condition 2 showed significantly less static frictional force for the stainless steel wire with 0.017 × 0.025 inch cross-section dimensions than as-received brackets and DLC-coated brackets deposited under condition 1, although both DLC-coated brackets showed significantly less kinetic frictional force than as-received brackets. The hardness of the DLC layers was much higher than that of the as-received bracket surfaces. In conclusion, the surfaces of metal brackets can be successfully modified by the PBIID method to create a DLC layer, and the DLC-coating process significantly reduces frictional forces. PMID:21934113

The use of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings has the potential to greatly improve the wear resistance and friction of aluminum alloys, but practical application has so far been limited by poor adhesion due to large difference in hardness and elasticity between the two materials. This study investigates the deposition of DLC onto an Al-alloy using an intermediate AlN layer with a graded hardness to create a hybrid coating. By controlling the hardness of the AlN film, it was found that the wear life of the DLC film could be improved 80-fold compared to a DLC film deposited directly onto Al-alloy. Furthermore, it was demonstrated through finite element simulation that creating a hardness gradient in the AlN intermediate layer reduces the distribution of stress in the DLC film, while also increasing the force of adhesion between the DLC and AlN layers. Given that both the DLC and AlN films were deposited using the same unbalanced magnetron sputtering method, this process is considered to represent a simple and effective means of improving the wear resistance of Al-alloy components commonly used within the aerospace and automotive industries.

Nickel-titanium (NiTi) has been used for implants in orthodontics due to the unique properties such as shape memory effect and superelasticity. However, NiTi alloys are eroded in the oral cavity because they are immersed by saliva with enzymolysis. Their reactions lead corrosion and nickel release into the body. The higher concentrations of Ni release may generate harmful reactions. Ni release causes allergenic, toxic and carcinogenic reactions. It is well known that diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films have excellent properties, such as extreme hardness, low friction coefficients, high wear resistance. In addition, DLC film has many other superior properties as a protective coating for biomedical applications such as biocompatibility and chemical inertness. Therefore, DLC film has received enormous attention as a biocompatible coating. In this study, DLC film coated NiTi orthodontic archwires to protect Ni release into the oral cavity. Each wire was immersed in physiological saline at the temperature 37 degrees C for 6 months. The release concentration of Ni ions was detected using microwave induced plasma mass spectrometry (MIP-MS) with the resolution of ppb level. The toxic effect of Ni release was studied the cell growth using squamous carcinoma cells. These cells were seeded in 24 well culture plates and materials were immersed in each well directly. The concentration of Ni ions in the solutions had been reduced one-sixth by DLC films when compared with non-coated wire. This study indicated that DLC films have the protective effect of the diffusion and the non-cytotoxicity in corrosive environment. PMID:17562139

High-quality single-layer and bilayer diamond-likecarbon (DLC) thin films are fabricated by two technologies, namely, ion-assisted plasma-enhanced deposition (IAPED) and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) deposition. Deposition on various substrates, such as sapphires and solar cells, has been performed at low substrate temperatures (50 {approx} 80 C). The two deposition technologies allow good control over the growth conditions to produce DLC films with desired optical properties, thickness, and energy bandgap. The bilayer-structured DLC can be fabricated by using IAPED for the bottom layer followed by ECR for the top layer, or just by IAPED for both layers with different compositions. The DLC films have shown good spatial uniformity, density, microhardness, and adhesion strength. They exhibit excellent stability against attack by strong acids, prolonged damp-heat exposure at 85 C and 85% relative humidity, mechanical scratch, ultrasonication, and irradiation by ultraviolet (UV), protons, and electrons. When deposited on crystalline Si and GaAs solar cells in single-layer and/or bilayer structure, the DLC films not only serve as antireflection coating and protective encapsulant, but also improve the cell efficiencies.

Aiming towards a specific application as antireflection coatings (ARC) in Si solar cells, the growth of hydrogenated diamondlikecarbon (HDLC) films, by RF magnetron sputtering, has been optimized through comprehensive optical and structural studies. Various physical properties of the films e.g., (ID/IG) ratio in the Raman spectra, percentage of sp3 hybridization in XPS spectra, H-content in the network, etc., have been correlated with different ARC application properties e.g., transmittance, reflectance, optical band gap, refractive index, surface roughness, etc. The ARC properties have been optimized on unheated substrates, through systematic variations of RF power, gas flow rate, gas pressure and finally controlled introduction of hydrogen to the DLC network at its most favorable plasma parameters. The optimum HDLC films possess (T700)max ∼ 95.8%, (R700)min ∼ 3.87%, (n700)min ∼ 1.62 along with simultaneous (Eg)max ∼ 2.53 eV and ∼75.6% of sp3 hybridization in the C-network, corresponding to a bonded H-content of ∼23 at.%. Encouraging improvements in the ARC properties over the optimized DLC film were obtained with the controlled addition of hydrogen, and the optimum HDLC films appear quite promising for applications in Si solar cells. Systematic materials development has been performed through comprehensive understanding of the parameter space and its optimization, as elaborately discussed.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films have received much attention recently owing to their properties, which are similar to diamond: hardness, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance against chemicals, abrasion resistance, good biocompatibility, and uniform flat surface. Furthermore, DLC films can be deposited easily on many substrates for wide area coat at room temperature. DLC films were developed for applications as biomedical materials in blood contacting-devices (e.g., rotary blood pump) and showed good biocompatibility for these applications. In this study, we investigated the surface roughness by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Hi-vision camera, SEM for surface imaging. The DLC films were produced by radio frequency glow discharge plasma decomposed of hydrocarbon gas at room temperature and low pressure (53 Pa) on several kinds of polycarbonate substrates. For the evaluation of the relation between deposition rate and platelet adhesion that we investigated in a previous study, DLC films were deposited at the same methane pressure for several deposition times, and film thickness was investigated. In addition, the deposition rate of DLC films on polymeric substrates is similar to the deposition rate of those deposited on Si substrates. There were no significant differences in substrates' surface roughness that were coated by DLC films in different deposition rates (16-40 nm). The surface energy and the contact angle of the DLC films were investigated. The chemical bond of DLC films also was evaluated. The evaluation of surface properties by many methods and measurements and the relationship between the platelet adhesion and film thickness is discussed. Finally, the presented DLC films appear to be promising candidates for biomedical applications and merit investigation. PMID:10971249

In total joint arthroplasty, long-term outcomes depend in part on the biocompatibility of implant alloys. This study analyzed effects of surface finish and diamond-likecarboncoating on osteoblast cell adhesion to polished titanium-aluminum-vanadium and polished or grit-blasted cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys. Osteoblast binding was tested in the presence and absence of the cell adhesion proteins fibronectin, laminin, fibrinogen, and vitronectin and was quantified by measurement of DNA content. Although adherence occurred in serum-free medium, maximal osteoblast binding required serum and was similar for titanium and cobalt alloys at 2 and 12 hours. With the grit-blasted cobalt alloy, cell binding was reduced 48% (p < 0.05) by 24 hours. Coating the alloys with diamond-likecarbon did not alter osteoblast adhesion, whereas fibronectin pretreatment increased cell binding 2.6-fold (p < 0.05). In contrast, fibrinogen, vitronectin, and laminin did not enhance cell adhesion. These results support the hypothesis that cell adhesion proteins can modify cell binding to orthopaedic alloys. Although osteoblast binding was not affected by the presence of diamond-likecarbon, this coating substance may influence other longer term processes, such as bone formation, and deserves further study. PMID:8982128

In total joint arthroplasty, long-term outcomes depend in part on the biocompatibility of implant alloys. This study analyzed effects of surface finish and diamond-likecarboncoating on osteoblast cell adhesion to polished titanium-aluminum-vanadium and polished or grit-blasted cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys. Osteoblast binding was tested in the presence and absence of the cell adhesion proteins fibronectin, laminin, fibrinogen, and vitronectin and was quantified by measurement of DNA content. Although adherence occurred in serum-free medium, maximal osteoblast binding required serum and was similar for titanium and cobalt alloys at 2 and 12 hours. With the grit-blasted cobalt alloy, cell binding was reduced 48% (p < 0.05) by 24 hours. Coating the alloys with diamond-likecarbon did not alter osteoblast adhesion, whereas fibronectin pretreatment increased cell binding 2.6-fold (p < 0.05). In contrast, fibrinogen, vitronectin, and laminin did not enhance cell adhesion. These results support the hypothesis that cell adhesion proteins can modify cell binding to orthopaedic alloys. Although osteoblast binding was not affected by the presence of diamond-likecarbon, this coating substance may influence other longer term processes, such as bone formation, and deserves further study. 40 refs., 4 figs.

This study aims to coatdiamond-likecarbon (DLC) films onto nickel-titanium (NiTi) orthodontic archwires. The film protects against fluoride-induced corrosion and will improve orthodontic friction. 'Mirror-confinement-type electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering' was utilized to deposit DLC films onto NiTi archwires. The influence of a fluoride-containing environment on the surface topography and the friction force between the brackets and archwires were investigated. The results confirmed the superior nature of the DLC coating, with less surface roughness variation for DLC-coated archwires after immersion in a high fluoride ion environment. Friction tests also showed that applying a DLC coating significantly decreased the fretting wear and the coefficient of friction, both in ambient air and artificial saliva. Thus, DLC coatings are recommended to reduce fluoride-induced corrosion and improve orthodontic friction. PMID:23793493

In orthodontics, a reduction in static friction between the brackets and wire is important to enable easy tooth movement. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a homogeneous diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating on the whole surfaces of slots in stainless steel orthodontic brackets on reducing the static friction between the brackets and the wire. The DLC coating was characterized using Raman spectroscopy, surface roughness and contact angle measurements, and SEM observations. Rectangular stainless steel and titanium-molybdenum alloy wires with two different sizes were employed, and the static friction between the brackets and wire was measured under dry and wet conditions. The DLC coating had a thickness of approximately 1.0 μm and an amorphous structure was identified. The results indicated that the DLC coating always led to a reduction in static friction. PMID:26632239

In this study, hard coatings (TiN, TiCN, CrN, and CrCN) and Me-DLC coatings (Ti{sub x%}-C:H and Cr{sub x%}-C:H) were deposited on tungsten carbide (WC) substrate by multiarc physical vapor deposition (MAPVD) and unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering, respectively. Counterbodies of the AISI 1045 steel cylinder and the AA7075T65l aluminum cylinder were used in the cylinder-on-disk, line-contact wear mode under dry condition; a counterbody of the AISI 51200 steel ball was used in the ball-on-disk, point-contact wear mode, under both dry and lubricated conditions. All wear tests were conducted with a reciprocating machine. After the tests, the most suitable coating for various counterbodies and test environments was selected. For the coating/1045 steel cylinder, the Ti{sub 10%}-C:H coating possesses excellent tribological characteristics. For the coating/7075T651 aluminum cylinder, hard coatings display excellent wear resistance. For the coating/steel ball, CrCN and CrN coatings display very little wear under both dry and lubricated conditions. On TiN and TiCN coatings, special wear mechanisms of material transfer, adhesion wear, and fatigue fracture occurred during initial tests under kerosene lubrication.

Doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings offer potential antifouling surfaces against microbial and protein attachment. In particular, stainless steel surgical instruments are subject to tissue protein and resilient prion protein attachment, making decontamination methods used in sterile service departments ineffective, potentially increasing the risk of iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease during surgical procedures. This study examined the adsorption of proteins and prion-associated amyloid to doped DLC surfaces and the efficacy of commercial cleaning chemistries applied to these spiked surfaces, compared to titanium nitride coating and stainless steel. Surfaces inoculated with ME7-infected brain homogenate were visualised using SYPRO Ruby/Thioflavin T staining and modified epi-fluorescence microscopy before and after cleaning. Reduced protein and prion amyloid contamination was observed on the modified surfaces and subsequent decontamination efficacy improved. This highlights the potential for a new generation of coatings for surgical instruments to reduce the risk of iatrogenic CJD infection. PMID:22694725

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) shows great promise as a durable, wear- and corrosion-resistant coating for biomedical implants. The effects of DLC coatings on the musculoskeletal system have not been investigated in detail. In this study, DLC coatings were deposited on polystyrene 24-well tissue culture plates by fast-atom bombardment from a hexane precursor. Two osteoblast-like cell lines were cultured on uncoated and DLC-coated plates for periods of up to 72 h. The effects of DLC coatings on cellular metabolism were investigated by measuring the production of three osteoblast-specific marker proteins: alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and type I collagen. There was no evidence that the presence of the DLC coating had any adverse effect on any of the parameters measured in this study. In a second series of experiments, DLC-coated cobalt-chromium cylinders were implanted in intramuscular locations in rats and in transcortical sites in sheep. Histologic analysis of specimens retrieved 90 days after surgery showed that the DLC-coated specimens were well tolerated in both sites. These data indicate that DLC coatings are biocompatible in vitro and in vivo, and further investigations into their long-term biological and tribological performance are now warranted. PMID:11319748

A stable and improved control of the wettability of textiles was obtained by using a coating of diamondlikecarbon (DLC) films on cotton by PECVD. By controlling different plasma pretreatments of argon, oxygen, and hydrogen on the cotton fibers' surface, we have shown that the pretreatments had a significant impact on wettability behavior resulting from an induced nanoscale roughness combined with an incorporation of selected functional groups. Upon subsequent deposition of diamondlikecarbon (DLC) films, the cotton fibers yield to a highly controlled chemical stability and hydrophobic state and could be used for self-cleaning applications. By controlling the nature of the plasma pretreatment we have shown that the oxygen plasma pretreatment was more effective than the argon and hydrogen for the superhydrophilic/ultra hydrophobic properties. The chemical and morphological changes of the cotton fibers under different treatments were characterized using X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy, AFM, and water contact angle measurements. The mechanism underlying the water-repellent properties of the cotton fibers provides a new and innovative pathway into the development of a range of advanced self-cleaning textiles. PMID:23379650

In this work, the influence of applied load on the frictional behavior of alkyl acrylate copolymer elastomers coated with diamond-likecarbon films is studied at dry conditions. The performance of two coatings with very different microstructure (patched vs. continuous film) is compared with the uncoated substrate. A wide range of applied loads is explored, from 1 mN to 1 N, which is achieved by using a specific tribometer. The variation of 3 orders of magnitude in the applied load leads to a strong variation of the observed frictional phenomena. The different behavior of both samples at various loads is explained using a model that considers two contributions to the friction coefficient, namely, an adhesive and a rubber hysteresis part. The constraints and applicability of such model are critically evaluated.

Atomic force microscope (AFM) equipped with diamond-likecarbon (DLC)-coated Si probe has been used for scratch nanolithography on Si surfaces. The effect of scratch direction, applied tip force, scratch speed, and number of scratches on the size of the scratched geometry has been investigated. The size of the groove differs with scratch direction, which increases with the applied tip force and number of scratches but decreases slightly with scratch speed. Complex nanostructures of arrays of parallel lines and square arrays are further fabricated uniformly and precisely on Si substrates at relatively high scratch speed. DLC-coated Si probe has the potential to be an alternative in AFM-based scratch nanofabrication on hard surfaces. PMID:21888633

To study the role of laser surface graphitization in the friction behavior of laser-patterned diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films, we apply the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) in the lateral force mode (LFM) which allows to obtain simultaneously the lateral force and topography images and to determine local friction levels in laser-irradiated and original surface areas. Based on this approach in the paper, we report on (1) laser surface microstructuring of hydrogenated a-C:H and hydrogen-free ta-C films in the regime of surface graphitization using UV laser pulses of 20-ns duration and (2) correlation between the structure and friction properties of the laser-patterned DLC surface on micro/nanoscale using SPM/LFM technique. The SPM/LFM data obtained for the surface relief gratings of graphitized microstructures have evidenced lower friction forces in the laser-graphitized regions. For the hydrogenated DLC films, the reversible frictional behavior of the laser-graphitized micropatterns is found to take place during LFM imaging at different temperatures (20 and 120 °C) in ambient air. It is revealed that the lateral force distribution in the laser-graphitized areas is shifted to higher friction levels (relative to that of the unirradiated surface) at temperature 120 °C and returned back to the lower friction during the sample cooling to 20 °C, thus confirming an influence of adsorbed water layers on the nanofriction properties of laser-graphitized micropatterns on the film surface.

In recent years, magnesium alloy has been widely used because of its low weight and ease of recycling. However, because magnesium alloys provide inferior wear resistance, it is necessary to improve this property to use magnesium alloy for more machine parts. For this study, we produced a diamondlikecarbon (DLC) coating that has high hardness, low friction, and excellent wear resistance. With DLC coated onto a soft material such as magnesium alloy, the adhesion strength between the substrate and the coating poses an important problem. Therefore, in this study, to acquire high adhesion strength, the DLC coating process was performed using unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBMS). A tungsten-doped inter-layer was formed on the substrate. Onto the inter-layer, nano-order DLC coatings of two kinds were laminated. Wear tests and fatigue tests were carried out. The DLC-coated magnesium alloy exhibited excellent wear friction. Furthermore, DLC coatings raised its fatigue reliability over that of the substrate alone.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings typically show low friction and high wear resistance. In this study, the friction and fretting wear characteristics of PVD, CVD and CVD-Si DLC coatings were investigated against an alumina (Al2O3) ball under water-lubricated fretting conditions. The objective of this study is to investigate and compare the friction and fretting wear characteristics of those DLC coatings at various fretting frequencies. The test results showed that the PVD DLC coating led to a lower friction coefficient and a higher resistance to fretting wear compared to those of the CVD and CVD-Si DLC coatings. However, the CVD DLC coating showed that the fretting wear resistance decreases with increasing frequency, while no significant difference in fretting wear resistances of the PVD and CVD-Si DLC coatings was observed. Quantitative surface analyses of the specimens were performed using an energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), a laser scanning microscope (LSM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Raman spectroscopy. PMID:24266210

An extensive and detailed investigation of tribological behaviors of vacuum arc carboncoated Ti6Al4V against medical grade ultra high molecular weight polyethylene were conducted in this work in order to investigate the potential use of diamond-likecarboncoatings for orthopedic applications. Further, the gas plasma sterilization and surface modification technique were evaluated as an alternative to the currently used gamma-radiation technique which has previously shown degradation effects on the mechanical properties of the UHMWPE. In addition, an emerging polymer surface modification technique using high-energy ion-implantation is explored to modify the surface of the UHMWPE for improved wear performance. The experiments were performed using a standard pin-on-disk wear tester under both dry and distilled water lubricated condition. The evolution of friction and wear processes are interpreted in the context of in situ recorded coefficient of friction and microscopic images of worn surfaces. Sliding wear tests demonstrated the existence of two distinct friction and wear regimes which comprise physically different dominant mechanisms: an adhesive and abrasive mechanism activated early in the run-in stage, followed by fatigue processes which developed later microscopically in the (quasi) steady-state sliding stage. The effects of surface roughness, distilled water lubricant, coating structure, polymer sterilization and surface modification on the tribological behaviors are presented and discussed in light of these results. Explanations based on theories of sliding contact stress fields, temperature profiles, as well as lubrication and coating fracture mechanics are presented to discuss and support the experimental results. It is revealed that, largely depending on material structures and surface roughness of both articulating components, significantly improved friction and wear performance can be achieved by optimal design of their process

Osteoarthritis-oriented synovial fluid (OASF), i.e., that typical of a patient with osteoarthritis, has different physical and biological characteristics than bovine serum (BS), a lubricant widely used in biotribological investigations. Micro-dimpled and diamond-likecarbon- (DLC) coated surfaces are key emerging interfaces for orthopedic implants. In this study, tribological performances of dimpled surfaces, with and without DLC coating, have been investigated under both BS and OASF. The friction tests were performed utilizing a pin on a disk tribometer, whereas contact pressure, speed, and temperature were simulated to a ‘medium walking gait’ of hip joint conditions. The mechanical properties of the specimen and the physical properties of the lubricant were characterized before the friction test. Raman analysis was conducted to identify the coating condition both before and after the test. The DLC-coated dimpled surface showed maximum hardness and residual stress. A DLC-coated dimpled surface under an OASF lubricated condition yielded a lower friction coefficient and wear compared to those of plain and dimpled specimens. The higher graphitization of coated materials with increasing load was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of a hard diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating to enhance the hardness and resilience of a bearing surface in joint replacement. The greater hardness of a magnesium-stabilized zirconium (Mg-PSZ) substrate was expected to provide a harder coating-substrate composite microhardness than the cobalt-chromium alloy (CoCr) also used in arthroplasty. Three femoral heads of each type (CoCr, Mg-PSZ, DLC-CoCr and DLC-Mg-PSZ) were examined. Baseline (non-coated) and composite coating/substrate hardness was measured by Vickers microhardness tests, while nanoindentation tests measured the hardness and elastic modulus of the DLC coating independent of the Mg-PSZ and CoCr substrates. Non-coated Mg-PSZ heads were considerably harder than non-coated CoCr heads, while DLC coating greatly increased the microhardness of the CoCr and Mg-PSZ substrates. On the nanoscale the non-coated heads were much harder than on the microscale, with CoCr exhibiting twice as much plastic deformation as Mg-PSZ. The mechanical properties of the DLC coatings were not significantly different for both the CoCr and Mg-PSZ substrates, producing similar moduli of resilience and plastic resistance ratios. DLC coatings greatly increased hardness on both the micro and nano levels and significantly improved resilience and resistance to plastic deformation compared with non-coated heads. Because Mg-PSZ allows less plastic deformation than CoCr and provides a greater composite microhardness, DLC-Mg-PSZ will likely be more durable for use as a bearing surface in vivo. PMID:19861184

This study investigates the durability of functional diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coated titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) under edge loading conditions for application in artificial hip joints. The multilayered (ML) functional DLC coatings consist of three key layers, each of these layers were designed for specific functions such as increasing fracture strength, adapting stress generation and enhancing wear resistance. A 'ball-on-disk' multi-directional wear tester was used in the durability test. Prior to the wear testing, surface hardness, modulus elasticity and Raman intensity were measured. The results revealed a significant wear reduction to the DLC coated Ti-6Al-4V disks compared to that of non-coated Ti-6Al-4V disks. Remarkably, the counterpart Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) balls also yielded lowered specific wear rate while rubbed against the coated disks. Hence, the pairing of a functional multilayered DLC and Si3N4 could be a potential candidate to orthopedics implants, which would perform a longer life-cycle against wear caused by edge loading. PMID:27085502

Despite the emerging use of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) as a coating for medical devices, few studies have examined the resistance of DLC coatings onto medical polymers to both microbial adherence and encrustation. In this study, amorphous DLC of a range of refractive indexes (1.7-1.9) and thicknesses (100-600 nm) was deposited onto polyurethane, a model polymer, and the resistance to microbial adherence (Escherichia coli; clinical isolate) and encrustation examined using in vitro models. In comparison to the native polymer, the advancing and receding contact angles of DLC-coated polyurethane were lower, indicating greater hydrophilic properties. No relationship was observed between refractive index, thickness, and advancing contact angle, as determined using multiple correlation analysis. The resistances of the various DLC-coated polyurethane films to encrustation and microbial adherence were significantly greater than that to polyurethane; however, there were individual differences between the resistances of the various DLC coatings. In general, increasing the refractive index of the coatings (100 nm thickness) decreased the resistance of the films to both hydroxyapatite and struvite encrustation and to microbial adherence. Films of lower thicknesses (100 and 200 nm; of defined refractive index, 1.8), exhibited the greatest resistance to encrustation and to microbial adherence. In conclusion, this study has uniquely illustrated both the microbial antiadherence properties and resistance to urinary encrustation of DLC-coated polyurethane. The resistances to encrustation and microbial adherence were substantial, and in light of this, it is suggested that DLC coatings of low thickness and refractive index show particular promise as coatings of polymeric medical devices. PMID:16615067

The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings will enhance the scratch resistance of a bearing surface in joint arthroplasty, and that a hard ceramic substrate will further enhance scratch resistance by reducing plastic deformation. We tested these hypotheses by applying a hard DLC coating to medical-grade cobalt chromium alloy (CoCr) and magnesia-stabilized zirconia (Mg-PSZ) femoral heads and performing scratch tests to determine the loads required to cause cohesive and adhesive fracture of the coating. Scratch tracks of DLC-coated and noncoated heads were then scanned by optical profilometry to determine scratch depth, width, and pile-up (raised edges), as measures of susceptibility to scratching. DLC-coated CoCr specimens exhibited cohesive coating fracture as wedge spallation at an average load of 9.74 N, whereas DLC-coated Mg-PSZ exhibited cohesive fracture as arc-tensile cracks and chipping at a significantly higher average load of 41.3 N (p < 0.0001). At adhesive coating fracture, DLC-CoCr delaminated at an average load of 35.2 N, whereas DLC-Mg-PSZ fractured by recovery spallation at a significantly higher average load of 46.8 N (p < 0.05). Both DLC-CoCr and DLC-Mg-PSZ specimens exhibited significantly shallower scratches and less pile-up than did uncoated specimens (p < 0.005 and p < 0.01, respectively). However, the harder ceramic substrate of DLC-Mg-PSZ better resisted plastic deformation, requiring significantly higher loads for cohesive and adhesive coating fracture. These findings supported both of our hypotheses. PMID:18985791

Blood-contacting medical devices should possess the surface properties with the following two important characteristics: The first is the anti-thrombogenicity of the material surface and the second is the re-endothelialization over the device surface after long-term implantation, because endothelial cells have excellent anticoagulant properties in blood vessels. To develop highly hemocompatible materials that could promote surface endothelialization, we investigated biocompatible polymers coated with thin diamond-likecarbon (DLC) film. In this research, we examined the viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for hydrophilic 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) fibers with DLC coatings, both of which were known to be anti-thrombogenic. DLC was synthesized on MPC by varying the ratio of covered area by patterned DLC. HUVECs were seeded on DLC-coated MPC for 6 days. The results indicated that the MPC surface with DLC did not disturb HUVEC proliferation in 6 days of culture. Additionally, we are currently making strong efforts to fabricate MPC fibers with bFGF which is an important growth factor involved in cell proliferation. MPC containing bFGF with DLC coatings could be extensively utilized for blood-contacting medical devices.

In this work, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings were deposited on plasma nitrided AISI 1045 steel by magnetron sputtering. Three BN-containing additives and molybdenum dithiocarbamate (MoDTC) were added to poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) as additives. The additive content (mass fraction) in PAO was fixed at 0.5 wt%. The friction and wear characters of DLC coatings on nitrided steel discs sliding against AISI 52100 steel balls were tested under the lubricated conditions. It was found that borate esters have a higher load carrying capacity and much better anti-wear and friction-reducing ability than that of MoDTC. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to explore the properties of the worn surface and the mechanism of friction and wear. According to the XPS analysis, the adsorbed organic N-containing compounds and BN are, possibly, the primary reason for the novel borate esters to possess a relatively constant coefficient of friction and lower wear rate. On the other hand, possibly, the MoDTC molecules break down during sliding and produce many Mo-oxides, and then the Mo-oxides destroy the DLC coating because of its sharp edge crystalline solid structure. After destroying the DLC coating, the MoDTC react with metals and form MoS 2 tribofilm, and decrease coefficient of friction of rubbing pairs.

Wear on the screw and barrel surface accompany polymer single screw plasticizing technology from the beginning. In general, wear on screws can be reduced by using nitrided steel surfaces, fused armour alloys on the screw flights and coatings. However, DLC-coatings (DiamondLikeCarbon) comprise a number of interesting properties such as a high hardness, a low coefficient of friction and an excellent corrosion resistance due to their amorphous structure. The wear resistance of about 50 µm thick DLC-coatings against polyamide 6.6, polybutylene terephthalate and polypropylene is investigated in this paper. The tribology in the solids conveying zone of a single screw extruder until the beginning of melting is evaluated using a pin on disc tribometer and a so called screw tribometer. The polymeric pins are pressed against coated metal samples using the pin on disc tribometer and the tests are carried out at a defined normal force and sliding velocity. The screw tribometer is used to perform tribological experiments between polymer pellets and rotating coated metal shafts simulating the extruder screw. Long term experiments were performed to evaluate the wear resistance of the DLC-coating. A reduction of the coefficient of friction can be observed after a frictional distance of about 20 kilometers using glass fibre reinforced polymeric materials. This reduction is independent on the polymer and accompanied by a black layer on the wear surface of the polymeric pins. The DLC-coated metal samples show an up to 16 µm deep wear track after the 100 kilometer test period against the glass fiber filled materials only.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) nanofilms with thickness varied from under one hundred to a few hundred nanometers have been successfully deposited on alumina substrates by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MW-PECVD) process. To obtain dense continuous DLC nanofilm coating over the entire sample surface, alumina substrates were pre-treated to enhance the nucleation density. Raman spectra of DLC films on samples showed distinct diamond peak at around 1332 cm(-1), and the broad band of amorphous carbon phase at around 1550 cm(-1). Full width at half maximum height (FWHM) values indicated good formation of diamond phase in all films. The result of nano-indentation test show that the hardness of alumina samples increase from 7.3 +/- 2.0 GPa in uncoated samples to 15.8 +/- 4.5-52.2 +/- 2.1 GPa in samples coated with DLC depending on the process conditions. It is observed that the hardness values are still in good range although the thickness of the films is less than a hundred nanometer. PMID:22524033

An effective way of controlling drug release from polymer fibers coated with thin diamond-likecarbon (DLC) film was introduced. It is highly expected that electrospinning will produce polymer fiber and useful for drug delivery systems. The drug release rate should be rather precisely controlled in order to prevent side effects due to the burst drug-release from polymers. Our previous research has already revealed that the micro-patterned DLC could control the drug release rate from biocompatible polymer films. In this study, the drug release profile of the polymer fibers with DLC was investigated. Hydrophilic 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) was selected as a typical biocompatible polymer. It is well known that the MPC polymers show good hemocompatibility and that both MPC and DLC are excellent biocompatible materials with antithrombogenicity. The DLC/MPC composites could therefore be extensively utilized for blood-contacting medical devices. The percentile covered area with patterned DLC on MPC fibers containing drug was varied from 0% (without DLC) to 100% (fully covered). It was found that the drug eluting profiles could be effectively controlled by changing the covered area of micro-patterned DLC coatings on MPC.

Polar molecules are known to affect the friction and wear of steel contacts via adsorption onto the surface, which represents one of the fundamental boundary-lubrication mechanisms. Since the basic chemical and physical effects of polar molecules on diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings have been investigated only very rarely, it is important to find out whether such molecules have a similar effect on DLC coatings as they do on steel. In our study the adsorption of hexadecanol in various concentrations (2-20 mmol/l) on DLC was studied under static conditions using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The amount of surface coverage, the size and the density of the adsorbed islands of alcohol molecules were analyzed. Tribological tests were also performed to correlate the wear and friction behaviours with the adsorption of molecules on the surface. In this case, steel surfaces served as a reference. The AFM was successfully used to analyze the adsorption ability of polar molecules onto the DLC surfaces and a good correlation between the AFM results and the tribological behaviour of the DLC and the steel was found. We confirmed that alcohols can adsorb physically and chemically onto the DLC surfaces and are, therefore, potential boundary-lubrication agents for the DLC coatings. The adsorption of alcohol onto the DLC surfaces reduces the wear of the coatings, but it is less effective in reducing the friction because of the already inherently low-friction properties of DLC. Tentative adsorption mechanisms that include the environmental species effect, the temperature effect and the tribological rubbing effect are proposed for DLC and steel surfaces.

Silver ions (Ag(+)) have strong bactericidal effects and Ag-coated medical devices proved their effectiveness in reducing infections in revision total joint arthroplasty. We quantitatively determined the antimicrobial potency of different surface treatments on a titanium alloy (Ti), which had been conversed to diamond-likecarbon (DLC-Ti) and doped with high (Ag:PVP = 1:2) and low (Ag:PVP = 1:10 and 1:20) concentrations of Ag (Ag-DLC-Ti) with a modified technique of ion implantation. Bacterial adhesion and planktonic growth of clinically relevant bacterial strains (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) on Ag-DLC-Ti were compared to untreated Ti by quantification of colony forming units on the adherent surface and in the growth medium as well as semiquantitatively by determining the grade of biofilm formation by scanning electron microscopy. (1) A significant (p

We report a new ion source development for inner wall pipe coating and materials modification. The ion source deposits coatings simultaneously in a 360° radial geometry and can be used to coat inner walls of pipelines by simply moving the ion source in the pipe. Rotating parts are not required, making the source ideal for rough environments and minimizing maintenance and replacements of parts. First results are reported for diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on Si and stainless steel substrates deposited using a novel 360° ion source design. The ion source operates with permanent magnets and uses a single power supply for the anode voltage and ion acceleration up to 10 kV. Butane (C4H10) gas is used to coat the inner wall of pipes with smooth and homogeneous DLC coatings with thicknesses up to 5 μm in a short time using a deposition rate of 70 ± 10 nm min-1. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry results showed that DLC coatings contain hydrogen up to 30 ± 3% indicating deposition of hydrogenated DLC (a-C:H) coatings. Coatings with good adhesion are achieved when using a multiple energy implantation regime. Raman spectroscopy results suggest slightly larger disordered DLC layers when using low ion energy, indicating higher sp3 bonds in DLC coatings. The results show that commercially interesting coatings can be achieved in short time.

We report a new ion source development for inner wall pipe coating and materials modification. The ion source deposits coatings simultaneously in a 360° radial geometry and can be used to coat inner walls of pipelines by simply moving the ion source in the pipe. Rotating parts are not required, making the source ideal for rough environments and minimizing maintenance and replacements of parts. First results are reported for diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on Si and stainless steel substrates deposited using a novel 360° ion source design. The ion source operates with permanent magnets and uses a single power supply for the anode voltage and ion acceleration up to 10 kV. Butane (C4H10) gas is used to coat the inner wall of pipes with smooth and homogeneous DLC coatings with thicknesses up to 5 μm in a short time using a deposition rate of 70 ± 10 nm min(-1). Rutherford backscattering spectrometry results showed that DLC coatings contain hydrogen up to 30 ± 3% indicating deposition of hydrogenated DLC (a-C:H) coatings. Coatings with good adhesion are achieved when using a multiple energy implantation regime. Raman spectroscopy results suggest slightly larger disordered DLC layers when using low ion energy, indicating higher sp(3) bonds in DLC coatings. The results show that commercially interesting coatings can be achieved in short time. PMID:25173323

A process of coating a non-conductive fiber with diamond-likecarbon, including passing a non-conductive fiber between a pair of parallel metal grids within a reaction chamber, introducing a hydrocarbon gas into the reaction chamber, forming a plasma within the reaction chamber for a sufficient period of time whereby diamond-likecarbon is formed upon the non-conductive fiber, is provided together with a reactor chamber for deposition of diamond-likecarbon upon a non-conductive fiber, including a vacuum chamber, a cathode assembly including a pair of electrically isolated opposingly parallel metal grids spaced apart at a distance of less than about 1 centimeter, an anode, a means of introducing a hydrocarbon gas into said vacuum chamber, and a means of generating a plasma within said vacuum chamber.

A process of coating a non-conductive fiber with diamond-likecarbon, including passing a non-conductive fiber between a pair of parallel metal grids within a reaction chamber, introducing a hydrocarbon gas into the reaction chamber, forming a plasma within the reaction chamber for a sufficient period of time whereby diamond-likecarbon is formed upon the non-conductive fiber, is provided together with a reactor chamber for deposition of diamond-likecarbon upon a non-conductive fiber, including a vacuum chamber, a cathode assembly including a pair of electrically isolated opposingly parallel metal grids spaced apart at a distance of less than about 1 centimeter, an anode, a means of introducing a hydrocarbon gas into said vacuum chamber, and a means of generating a plasma within said vacuum chamber.

ARC grade highly transparent unhydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were produced, directly from a-C target, using RF magnetron sputtering deposition technique, for optoelectronic applications. Optical band gap, transmittance, reflectance, sp{sup 3} fraction, I{sub D}/I{sub G}, density, and refractive index of the films have been estimated with the help of optical tools like Uv-vis spectrophotometer, ellipsometer and micro-Raman. Optimum ARC-qualities have been identified in low-temperature grown DLC films at an Ar pressure of 4 mTorr in the reactor, accomplishing its key requirements for use in silicon solar cells.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings were produced with a Si/SiCx interlayer by a hybrid plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition process to improve the adhesion between the carbon layer and surgical NiTi alloy substrate. The structure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of the coatings were evaluated in vitro by Raman spectroscopy, pin-on-disk tests, potentiodynamic polarization tests and simulated fluid immersion tests. The DLC coatings with a Si/SiCx interlayer of a suitable thickness have better adhesion, lower friction coefficients and enhanced corrosion resistance. In the simulated body fluid tests, the coatings exhibit effective corrosion protection and good biocompatibility as indicated by PC12 cell cultures. DLC films fabricated on a Si/SiCx interlayer have high potential as protective coatings for biomedical NiTi materials.

Fluorinated, diamond-likecarbon (F-DLC) films are produced by a pulsed, glow-discharge plasma immersion ion processing procedure. The pulsed, glow-discharge plasma was generated at a pressure of 1 Pa from an acetylene (C.sub.2 H.sub.2) and hexafluoroethane (C.sub.2 F.sub.6) gas mixture, and the fluorinated, diamond-likecarbon films were deposited on silicon <100>substrates. The film hardness and wear resistance were found to be strongly dependent on the fluorine content incorporated into the coatings. The hardness of the F-DLC films was found to decrease considerably when the fluorine content in the coatings reached about 20%. The contact angle of water on the F-DLC coatings was found to increase with increasing film fluorine content and to saturate at a level characteristic of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Carbon nitride (CN( x )) and diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Different partial pressures of N(2) were used to synthesize CN( x ) to evaluate the relationship between the atomic percentage of nitrogen and hemocompatibility. Auger electron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy indicated atomic percentages of N of 0.12 and 0.22 and that the CN( x ) coatings were smooth. An in vitro study of the hemocompatibility of the coatings revealed that both CN( x ) coatings had better anticoagulant properties and lower platelet adhesion than DLC. Compared with CN(0.12), the CN(0.22) coating showed longer dynamic clotting time (about 42 min), static clotting time (23.6 min) and recalcification time (45.6 s), as well as lower platelet adhesion (102 cells μm(-2)), aggregation, and activation. The presence of nitrogen in the CN( x ) coatings induced their enhanced hemocompatibility compared with DLC. PMID:22566091

We have developed capacitively-transduced nanomechanical resonators using sp(2)-rich diamond-likecarbon (DLC) thin films as conducting membranes. The electrically conducting DLC films were grown by physical vapor deposition at a temperature of 500 °C. Characterizing the resonant response, we find a larger than expected frequency tuning that we attribute to the membrane being buckled upwards, away from the bottom electrode. The possibility of using buckled resonators to increase frequency tuning can be of advantage in rf applications such as tunable GHz filters and voltage-controlled oscillators. PMID:26284626

A vacuum arc from a spot at the face of a graphite cathode to a graphite anode produces a beam of carbon ions and atoms. A carboncoating from this beam is deposited on an ion beam sputtered target to produce diamond-likecarbon flakes. A graphite tube encloses the cathode, and electrical isolation is provided by an insulating sleeve. The tube forces the vacuum arc spot to be confined to the surface on the outermost end of the cathode. Without the tube the arc spot will wander to the side of the cathode. This spot movement results in low rates of carbon deposition, and the properties of the deposited flakes are more graphite-like than diamond-like.

Designing, fabricating, and evaluating stretchable electronics is a growing area of materials research. Electronic devices have traditionally been fabricated using rigid, inorganic substrates (e.g., silicon) with metallic components and interconnections. Conventional electronic devices may face limitations when placed in environments that are dominated by stretchable or three-dimensional structures, including those within the human body. This paper describes the use of pulsed laser deposition to create diamond-likecarbon microstructures on polydimethylsiloxane. The viability of human epidermal keratinocyte cells on polydimethylsiloxane surfaces coated with arrays of diamond-likecarbon islands was similar to that on unmodified polydimethylsiloxane surfaces, which are commonly used in medical devices. It is anticipated that stretchable electronic devices may be incorporated within novel medical devices and prostheses that interface with stretchable or three-dimensional structures in the human body.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) and TiAlSiCN nanocomposite coatings were synthesized and annealed at different temperatures in a vacuum environment. The microstructure, hardness and tribological properties of as-deposited and annealed DLC-TiAlSiCN nanocomposite coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, nano-indentation and friction tests. The TEM results reveal that the as-deposited DLC-TiAlSiCN coating has a unique nanocomposite structure consisting of TiCN nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix consisting of a-Si3N4, a-SiC, a-CN and DLC, and the structure changed little after annealing at 800 °C. However, XPS and Raman results show that an obvious graphitization of the DLC phase occurred during the annealing process and it worsened with annealing temperature. Because of the graphitization, the hardness of the DLC-TiAlSiCN coating after annealing at 800 °C decreased from 45 to 36 GPa. In addition, the DLC-TiAlSiCN coating after annealing at 800 °C has a similar friction coefficient to the as-deposited coating.

In the present work, based on high frequency wavelet analysis of dynamic signals of mechanical systems, a multiple-resolution wavelet analysis is carried out, to the signal obtained from an accelerometer mounted on the structure of a hip prosthesis wearing test device. The prostheses employed had a femoral head made of aluminum oxide and the acetabular cup of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. The first two aluminum oxide femoral heads were coated with diamond-likecarbon and a third one was tested without coating and used as a reference. The coating was carried out by triboadhesion. Tests results showed that maximum vibration amplitude reached after 32 hr for the coated prostheses was 0.2 g. The noncoated prosthesis amplitude presented was 0.75 g in the same time interval. These values were attributed to wear damage on the surface of the prostheses, indicating that thin film DLC coating caused an increase of stiffness on the surface and therefore an increase in wear resistance approximately of 314%. PMID:20841618

A limitation to the potential use of graphene as an electronic material is the lack of control over the 2D materials properties once it is deposited on a supporting substrate. Here, the use of Diamond-likeCarbon (DLC) interlayers between the substrate and the graphene is shown to offer the prospect of overcoming this problem. The DLC films used here, more properly known as a-C:H with ˜25% hydrogen content, have been terminated with N or F moieties prior to graphene deposition. It is found that nitrogen terminations lead to an optical band gap shrinkage in the DLC, whilst fluorine groups reduce the DLC's surface energy. CVD monolayer graphene subsequently transferred to DLC, N terminated DLC, and F terminated DLC has then been studied with AFM, Raman and XPS analysis, and correlated with Hall effect measurements that give an insight into the heterostructures electrical properties. The results show that different terminations strongly affect the electronic properties of the graphene heterostructures. G-F-DLC samples were p-type and displayed considerably higher mobility than the other heterostructures, whilst G-N-DLC samples supported higher carrier densities, being almost metallic in character. Since it would be possible to locally pattern the distribution of these differing surface terminations, this work offers the prospect for 2D lateral control of the electronic properties of graphene layers for device applications.

A limitation to the potential use of graphene as an electronic material is the lack of control over the 2D materials properties once it is deposited on a supporting substrate. Here, the use of Diamond-likeCarbon (DLC) interlayers between the substrate and the graphene is shown to offer the prospect of overcoming this problem. The DLC films used here, more properly known as a-C:H with ∼25% hydrogen content, have been terminated with N or F moieties prior to graphene deposition. It is found that nitrogen terminations lead to an optical band gap shrinkage in the DLC, whilst fluorine groups reduce the DLC's surface energy. CVD monolayer graphene subsequently transferred to DLC, N terminated DLC, and F terminated DLC has then been studied with AFM, Raman and XPS analysis, and correlated with Hall effect measurements that give an insight into the heterostructures electrical properties. The results show that different terminations strongly affect the electronic properties of the graphene heterostructures. G-F-DLC samples were p-type and displayed considerably higher mobility than the other heterostructures, whilst G-N-DLC samples supported higher carrier densities, being almost metallic in character. Since it would be possible to locally pattern the distribution of these differing surface terminations, this work offers the prospect for 2D lateral control of the electronic properties of graphene layers for device applications.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were deposited on stainless steel (SUS), titanium (Ti) and nickel titanium (Ni-Ti) substrates using a radiofrequency plasma chemical vapour deposition method. Prior to DLC coating, the substrates were exposed to O2 and N2 plasma to enhance the adhesion strength of the DLC film to the substrate. After the plasma pre-treatment, the chemical composition and the wettability of the substrate surface was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurement, respectively. A pull-out test and a ball-on-disc test were carried out to evaluate the adhesion strength and the wear properties of the DLC-coated substrates. The XPS results showed that the N2 and O2 plasma pre-treatment produced nitride and oxide on the substrate surfaces, such as TiO2, TiO, Fe2O3, CrN and TiNO. In the pull-out test, the adhesion strengths of the DLC film to the SUS, Ti and Ni-Ti substrates were improved with the plasma pre-treatment. In the ball-on-disc test, the DLC coated SUS, Ti and Ni-Ti substrates without the plasma pre-treatment showed severe film failure following the test. The DLC coated SUS and Ni-Ti substrates with the N2 plasma pre-treatment showed good wear resistance, compared with that with the O2 plasma pre-treatment. PMID:20448301

We have demonstrated that by coating with a thin dielectric layer of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), a biocompatible and optical transparent material in the visible range, the Ag nanoparticle-based substrate becomes extremely suitable for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Our measurements show that a 10 A or thicker ta-C layer becomes efficient to protect the oxygen-free Ag in air and prevent Ag ionizing in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, the Ag nanoparticles substrate coated with a 10 A ta-C film shows a higher enhancement of Raman signals than the uncoated substrate. These observations are further supported by our numerical simulations. We suggest that biomolecule detections in analytic assays could be easily realized using ta-C-coated Ag-based substrate for SERS especially in the visible range. The coated substrate also has higher mechanical stability, chemical inertness, and technological compliance, and may be useful, for example, to enhance TiO(2) photocatalysis and solar-cell efficiency by the surface plasmons. PMID:20433194

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) was modified using a UV functionalization method to introduce surface-bound amine and aldehyde groups. The functionalization process rendered the DLC more hydrophilic and significantly increased the viability of neurons seeded to the surface. The amine functionalized DLC promoted adhesion of neurons and fostered neurite outgrowth to a degree indistinguishable from positive control substrates (glass coated with poly-L-lysine). The aldehyde-functionalized surfaces performed comparably to the amine functionalized surfaces and both additionally supported the adhesion and growth of primary rat Schwann cells. DLC has many properties that are desirable in biomaterials. With the UV functionalization method demonstrated here it may be possible to harness these properties for the development of implantable devices to interface with the nervous system. PMID:26478422

To understand how large systems of neurons communicate, we need to develop methods for growing patterned networks of large numbers of neurons. We have found that diamond-likecarbon thin films formed by energetic deposition from a filtered vacuum arc carbon plasma can serve as ''neuron friendly'' substrates for the growth of large neural arrays. Lithographic masks can be used to form patterns of diamond-likecarbon, and regions of selective neuronal attachment can form patterned neural arrays. In the work described here, we used glass microscope slides as substrates on which diamond-likecarbon was deposited. PC-12 rat neurons were then cultured on the treated substrates and cell growth monitored. Neuron growth showed excellent contrast, with prolific growth on the treated surfaces and very low growth on the untreated surfaces. Here we describe the vacuum arc plasma deposition technique employed, and summarize results demonstrating that the approach can be used to form large patterns of neurons.

In an attempt to increase the wear resistance of some key automotive components, General Motors Research and Development Center initiated a study to determine the potential of surface modification as a means of improving the tribological properties of automotive parts, and to investigate the feasibility of mass producing such parts. This paper describes the plasma immersion ion implantation system that was designed for the study of various options for surface treatment, and it discusses bench testing procedures used for evaluating the surface-treated samples. In particular, both tribological and microstructural analyses are discussed for nitrogen implants and diamond-like hydrocarbon coatings of some aluminum alloys.

A prototype manufacturing technology for producing high volume efficiency and high energy density diamond-likecarbon (DLC) capacitors has been developed. Unique dual ion-beam deposition and web-handling systems have been designed and constructed to deposit high quality DLC films simultaneously on both sides of capacitor grade aluminum foil and aluminum-coated polymer films. An optimized process, using inductively coupled RF ion sources, has been used to synthesize electrically robust DLC films. DLC films are amorphous and highly flexible, making them suitable for the production of wound capacitors. DLC capacitors are reliable and stable over a wide range of AC frequencies from 20 Hz to 1 MHz, and over a temperature range from .500 C to 3000 C. The compact DLC capacitors offer at least a 50% decrease in weight and volume and a greater than 50% increase in temperature handling capability over equal value capacitors built with existing technologies. The DLC capacitors will be suitable for high temperature, high voltage, pulsed power and filter applications.

The interaction between resist and template during the separation process after nanoimprint lithography (NIL) can cause the formation of defects and damage to the templates and resist patterns. To alleviate these problems, fluorinated self-assembled monolayers (F-SAMs, i.e. tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2,tetrahydrooctyl trichlorosilane or FDTS) have been employed as template release coatings. However, we find that the FDTS coating undergoes irreversible degradation after only 10 cycles of UV nanoimprint processes with SU-8 resist. The degradation includes a 28% reduction in surface F atoms and significant increases in the surface roughness. In this paper, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were investigated as an alternative material not only for coating but also for direct fabrication of nanoimprint templates. DLC films deposited on quartz templates in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system are shown to have better chemical and physical stability than FDTS. After the same 10 cycles of UV nanoimprints, the surface composition as well as the roughness of DLC films were found to be unchanged. The adhesion energy between the DLC surface and SU-8 is found to be smaller than that of FDTS despite the slightly higher total surface energy of DLC. DLC templates with 40 nm features were fabricated using e-beam lithography followed by Cr lift-off and reactive ion etching. UV nanoimprinting using the directly patterned DLC templates in SU-8 resist demonstrates good pattern transfer fidelity and easy template-resist separation. These results indicate that DLC is a promising material for fabricating durable templates for UV nanoimprint lithography. PMID:21817695

We investigated friction behavior of a bearing system with two interfaces involved: a roller component experiencing rolling–sliding interaction against twin cylinders under point contacts while simultaneously undergoing pure sliding interaction against a socket under a conformal contact. Lubrication modeling predicted a strong correlation between the roller's rolling condition and the system's friction behavior. Experimental observations first validated the analytical predictions using steel and iron components. Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coating and AlMgB14–TiB2 coating with a carbon topcoat (BAMC) were then applied to the roller and twin cylinders, respectively. In conclusion, testing and analysis results suggest that the coatings effectively decreased the slipmore » ratio for the roller–cylinder contact and the sliding friction at both bearing interfaces and, as a result, significantly reduced the system frictional torque.« less

In this work was developed a Diffractive Optical Elements (DOEs) based in amorphous hydrogenated carbon (DiamondLikeCarbon) films. DOEs can be built in large scale with high reproducibility and eliminating almost stages used in optical elements tradicional fabrication, as abrasion and burnishing. These devices had been built by the etching of DLC deposited by sputtering process. The characterizations of these devices are realized by optical analyzes with a 633 nm HeNe laser. The DLC films roughness and etch rate after process were measured by high step meter.

Ion-assisted plasma enhanced deposition of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films on the surface of photovoltaic solar cells is accomplished with a method and apparatus for controlling ion energy. The quality of DLC layers is fine-tuned by a properly biased system of special electrodes and by exact control of the feed gas mixture compositions. Uniform (with degree of non-uniformity of optical parameters less than 5%) large area (more than 110 cm.sup.2) DLC films with optical parameters varied within the given range and with stability against harmful effects of the environment are achieved.

A diamond-like-carbon (DLC)-coated LiV3O8 cathode was synthesized for use in a rechargeable 2032-coin-type cell with a Li-powder electrode (LPE) as the anode. The LPE anode was produced using the droplet emulsion technique and was compacted by pressing. The initial discharge capacity of the LPE/DLC-coated LiV3O8 (LVO) cell was 238 mAh g-1 at a C-rate of 0.5, while that of a LPE/bare-LVO cell was 236 mAh g-1. After 50 cycles, the capacity retention rate of the DLC-coated-electrode-containing cell (92%) was higher than that of the uncoated-electrode-containing cell (77%). Results of electron probe microanalysis and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the electrode had been coated with DLC. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to determine the sequence of formation of byproducts on the electrode after charging/discharging and to determine its surface composition. The voltage profile and impedance of the DLC-coated-electrode-containing cell were analyzed to determine the electrochemical characteristics of the DLC-coated cathode.

The application of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on automotive components is emerging as a favorable strategy to address the recent challenges in the industry. DLC coatings can effectively lower the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate of engine components, thereby improving their fuel efficiency and durability. The lubrication of ferrous materials can be enhanced by a large amount of unsaturated and polar components of oils. Therefore, the interaction between nonferrous coatings (e.g., DLC) and vegetable oil should be investigated. A ball-on-plate tribotester was used to run the experiments. Stainless steel plates coated with amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) DLC and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) DLC that slide against 440C stainless steel ball were used to create a ball-on-plate tribotester. The wear track was investigated through scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to analyze the tribofilm inside the wear track. Raman analysis was performed to investigate the structural changes in the coatings. At high temperatures, the CoF in both coatings decreased. The wear rate, however, increased in the a-C:H but decreased in the ta-C DLC-coated plates. The CoF and the wear rate (coated layer and counter surface) were primarily influenced by the graphitization of the coating. Tribochemical films, such as polyphosphate glass, were formed in ta-C and acted as protective layers. Therefore, the wear rate of the ta-C DLC was lower than that of the-C:H DLC.

A commercial plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique with planetary substrate rotation was used to apply a thin (200-400 nm thick) conformal diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating (known as a diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN)) on LIGA fabricated Ni-Mn alloy parts. The PECVD technique is known to overcome the drawbacks associated with the line-of-sight nature of physical vapor deposition (PVD) and substrate heating inherent with traditional chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The purpose of the present study is to characterize the coverage, adhesion, and tribological (friction and wear) behavior of DLN coatings applied to planar and sidewall surfaces of small featured LIGA Ni-Mn fabricated parts, e.g. 280 {micro}m thick sidewalls. Friction and wear tests were performed in dry nitrogen, dry air, and air with 50% RH at Hertzian contact pressures ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 GPa. The friction coefficient of bare Ni-Mn alloy was determined to be 0.9. In contrast, low friction coefficients ({approx}0.02 in dry nitrogen and {approx}0.2 in 50% RH air) and minimal amount of wear were exhibited for the DLN coated LIGA Ni-Mn alloy parts and test coupons. This behavior was due to the ability of the coating to transfer to the rubbing counterface providing low interfacial shear at the sliding contact; resultantly, coating one surface was adequate for low friction and wear. In addition, a 30 nm thick titanium bond layer was determined to be necessary for good adhesion of DLN coating to Ni-Mn alloy substrates. Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional SEM with energy dispersive x-ray analysis revealed that the DLN coatings deposited by the PECVD with planetary substrate rotation covered both the planar and sidewall surfaces of LIGA fabricated parts, as well as narrow holes of 300 {micro}m (0.012 inch) diameter.

The lack of durability of the outermost coated lens or window of thermal imaging systems had been a problem for many years. It was overcome in the mid-seventies by the development within RSRE of the infra-red transparent diamond-likecarboncoating. This material was chemically durable, abrasion resistant and a near perfect match to germanium as a single layer anti-reflection coating. Originally the coatings had reasonable infra-red transmission but their hardness and adhesion were variable. Using our own processes we obtained consistently good coatings with optimised transmission. The application and excellent performance of these coatings on germanium components is described. Another application is the protection of diamond flycut aluminium surfaces where the off-normal reflectivity in the infra-red using conventional coatings can be poor. Having developed these coatings it was then necessary to develop specifications before they could be used in service. The development of coatings test procedures and specifications is also described.

This paper reports tribological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films nanostructured by femtosecond (fs) laser ablation. The nanostructure was formed in an area of more than 15 mm × 15 mm on the DLC surface, using a precise target-scan system developed for the fs-laser processing. The frictional properties of the DLC film are greatly improved by coating a MoS 2 layer on the nanostructured surface, while the friction coefficient can be increased by surface texturing of the nanostructured zone in a net-like patterning. The results demonstrate that the tribological properties of a DLC surface can be controlled using fs-laser-induced nanostructuring.

The coating of orthopedic prostheses with diamondlike-carbon (DLC) has been actively studied in the past years, in order to improve mechanical, tribological properties and promote the material's biocompatibility. Recently, the incorporation of crystalline diamond nanoparticles into the DLC film has shown effective in combating electrochemical corrosion in acidic medias. This study examines the material's biocompatibility through testing by LDH release and MTT, on in vitro fibroblasts; using different concentrations of diamond nanoparticles incorporated into the DLC film. Propounding its potential use in orthopedics in order to increase the corrosion resistance of prostheses and improve their relationship with the biological environment.

Recent studies suggest that diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings are suitable candidates for application on biomedical devices and implants, due to their high hardness, low friction, high wear and corrosion resistance, chemical inertness, smoothness, and tissue and blood compatibility. However, most studies have neglected the potential susceptibility of DLC coatings to bacterial adhesion, which is the first step in the development of implant-related infections. This study compares adhesion of seven bacterial strains, commonly implicated in implant-related infections, to tetrahedral amorphous carbon, with their adhesion to AISI 316L surgical steel. The results show that bacterial adhesion to DLC was similar to the adhesion to commonly used stainless steel. This suggests that DLC coating can be advantageously used on implants made of AISI 316L or other materials without increasing the risk to implant-related infections. PMID:19353566

The local crystallization during annealing at 600 °C in nanoscale diamond-likecarboncoatings films grown by pulsed vacuum-arc deposition method was observed using modern techniques of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The crystallites formed by annealing have a face-centred cubic crystal structure and grow in the direction [01{sup ¯}1{sup ¯}] as a normal to the film surface. The number and size of the crystallites depend on the initial values of the intrinsic stresses before annealing, which in turn depend on the conditions of film growth. The sizes of crystallites are 10 nm for films with initial compressive stresses of 3 GPa and 17 nm for films with initial compressive stresses of 12 GPa. Areas of local crystallization arising during annealing have a structure different from the graphite. Additionally, the investigation results of the structure of nanoscale diamond-likecarboncoatings films using Raman spectroscopy method are presented, which are consistent with the transmission electron microscopy research results.

Applications exist in advanced transportation systems as well as in manufacturing processes that would benefit from superior tribological properties of diamond, diamond-like-carbon and cubic boron nitride coatings. Their superior hardness make them ideal candidates as protective coatings to reduce adhesive, abrasive and erosive wear in advanced diesel engines, gas turbines and spark-ignited engines and in machining and manufacturing tools as well. The high thermal conductivity of diamond also makes it desirable for thermal management not only in tribological applications but also in high-power electronic devices and possibly large braking systems. A workshop has been recently held at Argonne National Laboratory entitled ``Diamond and Diamond-Like-Carbon Films for Transportation Applications`` which was attended by 85 scientists and engineers including top people involved in the basic technology of these films and also representatives from many US industrial companies. A working group on applications endorsed 18 different applications for these films in the transportation area alone. Separate abstracts have been prepared.

Amorphous hydrogenated and/or nitrogenated carbon films, a-C:H/a-C:N, in overall thickness up to 2 nm are materials of choice as a mechanical and corrosion protection layer of the magnetic media in modern hard disk drive disks. In order to obtain high density and void-free films the sputtering technology has been replaced by different plasma and ion beam deposition techniques. Hydrocarbon gas precursors, like C2H2 or CH4 with H2 and N2 as reactive gases are commonly used in Kaufman DC ion and RF plasma beam sources. Optimum incident energy of carbon ions, C+, is up to 100 eV while the typical ion current densities during the film formation are in the mA/cm2 range. Other carbon deposition techniques, like filtered cathodic arc, still suffer from co-deposition of fine nanosized carbon clusters (nano dust) and their improvements are moving toward arc excitation in the kHz and MHz frequency range. Non-destructive film analysis like μ-Raman optical spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, FTIR and optical surface analysis are mainly used in the carbon film characterization. Due to extreme low film thicknesses the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with pre-deposited layer of Au can reduce the signal collection time and minimize photon-induced damage during the spectra acquisition. Standard approach in the μ-Raman film evaluation is the measurement of the position (shift) and area of D and G-peaks under the deconvoluted overall carbon spectrum. Also, a slope of the carbon spectrum in the 1000-2000 cm-1 wavenumber range is used as a measure of the hydrogen intake within a film. Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) film should possess elasticity and self-healing properties during the occasional crash of the read-write head flying only couple of nanometers above the spinning film. Film corrosion protection capabilities are mostly evaluated by electrochemical tests, potentio-dynamic and linear polarization method and by business environmental method. Corrosion mechanism

In this letter, we report fluctuation microscopy studies of medium-range ordering in amorphous diamond-likecarbon films and the effect of annealing on this ordering. Annealed and unannealed diamond-likecarbon films have almost identical short-range order. Our fluctuation microscopy results, however, indicate the presence of medium range order or clustering in the films on a lateral length scale that exceeds 1 nm. Within the clustered regions, the dominant local ordering appears to be diamond-like, and graphite-like ordering is not observed. Thermal annealing up to 600 {sup o}C leads to an increase in diamond-like clustering with no onset of graphite-like clustering. However, after high temperature annealing up to 1000 {sup o}C, graphite-like clustering becomes apparent as a result of the conversion of diamond-likecarbon to graphite-like carbon. The results on the as-deposited films and films annealed up to 600 {sup o}C suggest that a spontaneous medium range ordering process occurs in diamond-likecarbon films during and subsequent to film growth, and this may play an important role in stress relaxation.

A thin diamond-likecarbon (DLC) film was deposited onto a densely packed "forest" of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (VACNT). DLC deposition caused the tips of the CNTs to clump together to form a microstructured surface. Field-emission tests of this new composite material show the typical low threshold voltages for carbon nanotube structures (2 V μm(-1)) but with greatly increased emission current, better stability, and longer lifetime. PMID:24224845

Prostheses are subject to various forms of failing mechanisms, including wear from ordinary patient motion. Superficial treatments can improve tribological properties of the contact pair, minimizing wear and increasing prostheses lifetime. One possibility is the diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating, where Carbon is deposited with variable ratio of sp(2)/sp(3) structures, leading to an increase in surface hardness. So in this research Ti6Al4V samples were coated with DLC using sputtering process to evaluate the debris release. The Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al4V plus DLC coating surfaces were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy and instrumented indentation (hardness). The wear behavior was tested using a reciprocating linear tribometer. The wear rate was smaller in the coated samples, producing less debris than the untreated Ti6Al4V alloy. Debris morphology was also evaluated, using scanning electronic microscopy, and it was observed that debris size from the coated samples were bigger than those observed from the uncoated Ti6Al4V alloy, above the size that generally triggers biological response from the host. PMID:24948374

In artificial prosthetics for knee, hip, finger or shoulder joints, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) is a significant material. Several attempts to reduce the wear rate of UHMW-PE, i.e. the application of suitable coatings, are in progress. A surface modification of polyethylene with wear-resistant hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon is favourable, owing to the chemical similarity of polyethylene (-C-H(2)-)(n) and C:H or amorphous C:H (a-C:H) coatings with diamond-like properties. In the present study, the microstructure of a-C:H coatings on UHMW-PE substrates was investigated by Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectroscopy shows very broad absorption lines, which point to the disorder and diversity of different symmetric, asymmetric aromatic, olefin sp(2)-hybridized or sp(3)-hybridized C-H groups in the amorphous diamond-likecarboncoating. Following a long incubation of 12 months in a simulated body liquid, the structural investigations were repeated. Furthermore, fractured cross-sections and the wetting behaviour with polar liquids were examined. After incubation in simulated body liquid, Raman spectroscopy pointed to a reduction of the C-H bonds in the diamond-likecarboncoatings. On the basis of these findings, one can conclude that hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon is able to interact with salt solutions by substituting the hydrogen with appropriate ions. PMID:18157668

Biomaterials with the ability to interface with, but not activate, blood components are essential for a multitude of medical devices. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) and titania (TiO2) have shown promise for these applications; however, both support platelet adhesion and activation. This study explored the fabrication of nanostructured DLC and TiO2 thin film coatings using a block copolymer deposition technique that produced semiordered nanopatterns with low surface roughness (5-8 nm Rrms). These surfaces supported fibrinogen and plasma protein adsorption that predominantly adsorbed between the nanofeatures and reduced the overall surface roughness. The conformation of the adsorbed fibrinogen was altered on the nanopatterned surfaces as compared with the planar surfaces to reveal higher levels of the platelet binding region. Planar DLC and TiO2 coatings supported less platelet adhesion than nanopatterned DLC and TiO2. However, platelets on the nanopatterned DLC coatings were less spread indicating a lower level of platelet activation on the nanostructured DLC coatings compared with the planar DLC coatings. These data indicated that nanostructured DLC coatings may find application in blood contacting medical devices in the future. PMID:26928086

Diamond-likecarbon films (DLC) are deposited on Ti substrate by electrochemical anodic deposition at room temperature in pure methanol solution using a pulsed DC voltage at a range from 200 V to 2000 V. Raman spectroscopy analysis of the films reveals two broaden characteristic absorption peaks centred at ˜1350 cm-1 and 1580 cm-1, relating to D- and G-band of typical DLC films, respectively. A broad peak centred at 1325-1330 cm-1 is observed when an applied potential is 1200 V, which can confirm that the deposited films contained diamond structure phase. Tribological properties of the coated Ti substrates have been measured by means of a ball-on-plate wear test machine. A related growth mechanism of DLC films by the anodic deposition mode has also been discussed.

Hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (HDLC) has an atomically smooth surface that can be deposited on high-surface area substrata and functionalized with reactive chemical groups, providing an ideal substrate for protein immobilization. A synthetic sequence is described involving deposition and hydrogenation of DLC followed by chemical functionalization. These functional groups are reacted with amines on proteins causing covalent immobilization on contact. Raman measurements confirm the presence of these surface functional groups, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirms covalent protein immobilization. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of immobilized proteins is reproducible because proteins do not move as a result of interactions with the AFM probe-tip, thus providing an advantage over mica substrata typically used in AFM studies of protein. HDLC offers many of the same technical advantages as oxidized graphene but also allows for coating large surface areas of biomaterials relevant to the fabrication of medical/biosensor devices. PMID:20949913

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has been explored as a biomaterial with potential use for coating implantable devices and surgical instruments. In this study the interaction of DLC with mammalian neuronal cells has been studied along with its modifications to improve its function as a biomaterial. We describe the use of DLC, oxidised DLC and phosphorus-doped DLC to support the growth and survival of primary central nervous system neurones and neuroblastoma cells. None of these substrates were cytotoxic and primary neurones adhered better to phosphorus-doped DLC than unmodified DLC. This property was used to culture cortical neurones in a predetermined micropattern. This raises the potential of DLC as a biomaterial for central nervous system (CNS) implantation. Furthermore, patterned DLC and phosphorus-doped DLC can direct neuronal growth, generating a powerful tool to study neuronal networks in a spatially distinct way. This study reports the generation of nerve cell patterns via patterned deposition of DLC. PMID:18359076

Protective hard coatings deposited on magnesium alloys are believed to be effective for overcoming their poor wear properties. In this work, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films as hard protective films were deposited on AZ91 magnesium alloy by arc ion plating under negative pulse bias voltages ranging from 0 to -200 V. The microstructure, composition and mechanical properties of the DLC films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nanoindentation. The tribological behavior of uncoated and coated AZ91 magnesium alloy was investigated using a ball-on-disk tribotester. The results show that the negative pulse bias voltage used for film deposition has a significant effect on the sp3 carbon content and mechanical properties of the deposited DLC films. A maximum sp3 content of 33.3% was obtained at -100 V, resulting in a high hardness of 28.6 GPa and elastic modulus of 300.0 GPa. The DLC films showed very good adhesion to the AZ91 magnesium alloy with no observable cracks and delamination even during friction testing. Compared with the uncoated AZ91 magnesium alloy, the magnesium alloy coated with DLC films exhibits a low friction coefficient and a narrow, shallow wear track. The wear resistance and surface hardness of AZ91 magnesium alloy can be significantly improved by coating a layer of DLC protective film due to its high hardness and low friction coefficient.

A new, low cost, pulsed-DC plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system that uses a bipolar, pulsed power supply was designed and tested to evaluate its capacity to produce quality diamond-likecarbon films on the inner surface of steel tubes. The main focus of the study was to attain films with low friction coefficients, low total stress, a high degree of hardness, and very good adherence to the inner surface of long metallic tubes at a reasonable growth rate. In order to enhance the diamond-likecarboncoating adhesion to metallic surfaces, four steps were used: (1) argon ion sputtering; (2) plasma nitriding; (3) a thin amorphous silicon interlayer deposition, using silane as the precursor gas; and (4) diamond-likecarbon film deposition using methane atmosphere. This paper presents various test results as functions of the methane gas pressure and of the coaxial metal anode diameter, where the pulsed-DC voltage constant is kept constant. The influence of the coaxial metal anode diameter and of the methane gas pressure is also demonstrated. The results obtained showed the possibilities of using these DLC coatings for reduced friction and to harden inner surface of the steel tubes. PMID:19504937

Characterizations of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) deposited on a polymer artificial tooth were performed. DLC films were deposited on dental parts made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) resin by dc-pulse plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from methane. Wear resistance test results revealed that a DLC-coated resin tooth has a very high wear resistance against tooth brushing, and endures 24 h brushing without a marked weight decrease. Cell cultivation test results show that DLC plays an important role in preventing cell death. Moreover, a biocompatibility test using a rabbit revealed that a connective tissue in the vicinity of DLC-coated PMMA is significantly thinner than that of noncoated PMMA. The numbers of inflammatory cells in the vicinity of DLC-coated and noncoated surfaces are 0 and 508 cells/mm2, respectively. These results led us to conclude that DLC films are an excellent material for use as the coating of a polymer artificial tooth in terms of not only high wear resistance but also biocompatibility.

A method and composition for the deposition of a thick layer (10) of diamond or diamond-like material. The method includes high temperature processing wherein a selected composition (12) including at least glassy carbon is heated in a direct current plasma arc device to a selected temperature above the softening point, in an inert atmosphere, and is propelled to quickly quenched on a selected substrate (20). The softened or molten composition (18) crystallizes on the substrate (20) to form a thick deposition layer (10) comprising at least a diamond or diamond-like material. The selected composition (12) includes at least glassy carbon as a primary constituent (14) and may include at least one secondary constituent (16). Preferably, the secondary constituents (16) are selected from the group consisting of at least diamond powder, boron carbide (B.sub.4 C) powder and mixtures thereof.

A method and composition is disclosed for the deposition of a thick layer of diamond or diamond-like material. The method includes high temperature processing wherein a selected composition including at least glassy carbon is heated in a direct current plasma arc device to a selected temperature above the softening point, in an inert atmosphere, and is propelled to quickly quenched on a selected substrate. The softened or molten composition crystallizes on the substrate to form a thick deposition layer comprising at least a diamond or diamond-like material. The selected composition includes at least glassy carbon as a primary constituent and may include at least one secondary constituent. Preferably, the secondary constituents are selected from the group consisting of at least diamond powder, boron carbide (B{sub 4}C) powder and mixtures thereof. 9 figs.

We present a simple two-step method to fabricate dual-scale superhydrophobic surfaces by using replica molding of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) micropillars, followed by deposition of a thin, hard coating layer of a SiO(x)-incorporated diamond-likecarbon (DLC). The resulting surface consists of microscale PDMS pillars covered by nanoscale wrinkles that are induced by residual compressive stress of the DLC coating and a difference in elastic moduli between DLC and PDMS without any external stretching or thermal contraction on the PDMS substrate. We show that the surface exhibits superhydrophobic properties with a static contact angle over 160 degrees for micropillar spacing ratios (interpillar gap divided by diameter) less than 4. A transition of the wetting angle to approximately 130 degrees occurs for larger spacing ratios, changing the wetting from a Cassie-Cassie state (C(m)-C(n)) to a Wenzel-Cassie state (W(m)-C(n)), where m and n denote micro- and nanoscale roughness, respectively. The robust superhydrophobicity of the Cassie-Cassie state is attributed to stability of the Cassie state on the nanoscale wrinkle structures of the hydrophobic DLC coating, which is further explained by a simple mathematical theory on wetting states with decoupling of nano- and microscale roughness in dual scale structures. PMID:19810723

Many types of plastic containers have been used for the storage of food. In the present study, diamond-likecarbon (DLC)/titanium oxide (TiO2) multilayer thin films were deposited on polypropylene (PP) to prevent flavour retention and to remove flavour in plastic containers. For the flavour removal test, two types of multilayer films were prepared, DLC/TiO2 films and DLC/TiO2/DLC films. The residual gas concentration of acetaldehyde, ethylene, and turmeric compounds in bottle including the DLC/TiO2-coated and the DLC/TiO2/DLC-coated PP plates were measured after UV radiation, and the amount of adsorbed compounds to the plates was determined. The percentages of residual gas for acetaldehyde, ethylene, and turmeric with the DLC/TiO2 coated plates were 0.8%, 65.2% and 75.0% after 40 h of UV radiation, respectively. For the DLC/TiO2/DLC film, the percentages of residual gas for acetaldehyde, ethylene and turmeric decreased to 34.9%, 76.0% and 85.3% after 40 h of UV radiation, respectively. The DLC/TiO2/DLC film had a photocatalytic effect even though the TiO2 film was covered with the DLC film.

Understanding friction and wear at the nanoscale is important for many applications that involve nanoscale components sliding on a surface, such as nanolithography, nanometrology and nanomanufacturing. Defects, cracks and other phenomena that influence material strength and wear at macroscopic scales are less important at the nanoscale, which is why nanowires can, for example, show higher strengths than bulk samples. The contact area between the materials must also be described differently at the nanoscale. Diamond-likecarbon is routinely used as a surface coating in applications that require low friction and wear because it is resistant to wear at the macroscale, but there has been considerable debate about the wear mechanisms of diamond-likecarbon at the nanoscale because it is difficult to fabricate diamond-likecarbon structures with nanoscale fidelity. Here, we demonstrate the batch fabrication of ultrasharp diamond-likecarbon tips that contain significant amounts of silicon on silicon microcantilevers for use in atomic force microscopy. This material is known to possess low friction in humid conditions, and we find that, at the nanoscale, it is three orders of magnitude more wear-resistant than silicon under ambient conditions. A wear rate of one atom per micrometre of sliding on SiO(2) is demonstrated. We find that the classical wear law of Archard does not hold at the nanoscale; instead, atom-by-atom attrition dominates the wear mechanisms at these length scales. We estimate that the effective energy barrier for the removal of a single atom is approximately 1 eV, with an effective activation volume of approximately 1 x 10(-28) m. PMID:20118919

Amorphous atomically flat diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings were produced by direct ion deposition using a system based on a Penning ion source, butane precursor gas and post acceleration. Hydrogen depth profiles of the DLC coatings were measured with the 15N R-NRA method using the resonant nuclear reaction 1H(15N, αγ)12C (Eres = 6.385 MeV). The films produced at 3.0-10.5 kV acceleration voltage show two main effects. First, compared to average elemental composition of the film, the near-surface region is hydrogen depleted. The increase of the hydrogen concentration by 3% from the near-surface region towards the bulk is attributed to a growth model which favours the formation of sp2 hybridised carbon rich films in the film formation zone. Secondly, the depth at which the maximum hydrogen concentration is measured increases with acceleration voltage and is proportional to the penetration depth of protons produced by the ion source from the precursor gas. The observed effects are explained by a deposition process that takes into account the contributions of ion species, hydrogen effusion and preferential displacement of atoms during direct ion deposition.

We report the characterization of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) surfaces to be used for the storage of ultracold neutrons (UCN). The samples investigated were 100-300-nm-thick tetragonal amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings produced by vacuum-arc technology on thin foils (0.1-0.2 mm aluminum, stainless steel, PET). The diamond sp 3 fraction was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to be in the range 45-65%. Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) yielded consistent results for the hydrogen contribution (about 1×10 16 cm -2 within the top 20 nm), strongly concentrated within a surface layer of 1 nm thickness. The boron contamination was found to be around 50 at. ppm. The fractional hole area of the coatings is on a level of about 1×10 -4. Temperature cycling of mechanically pre-stressed samples between 77 and 380 K revealed no detrimental effect.

This study compares the ability of selected materials to inhibit adhesion of two bacterial strains commonly implicated in implant-related infections. These two strains are Staphylococcus aureus (S-15981) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 35984). In experiments we tested six different materials, three conventional implant metals: titanium, tantalum and chromium, and three diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings: DLC, DLC-polydimethylsiloxane hybrid (DLC-PDMS-h) and DLC-polytetrafluoroethylene hybrid (DLC-PTFE-h) coatings. DLC coating represents extremely hard material whereas DLC hybrids represent novel nanocomposite coatings. The two DLC polymer hybrid films were chosen for testing due to their hardness, corrosion resistance and extremely good non-stick (hydrophobic and oleophobic) properties. Bacterial adhesion assay tests were performed under dynamic flow conditions by using parallel plate flow chambers (PPFC). The results show that adhesion of S. aureus to DLC-PTFE-h and to tantalum was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than to DLC-PDMS-h (0.671 ± 0.001 × 10(7)/cm(2) and 0.751 ± 0.002 × 10(7)/cm(2) vs. 1.055 ± 0.002 × 10(7)/cm(2), respectively). No significant differences were detected between other tested materials. Hence DLC-PTFE-h coating showed as low susceptibility to S. aureus adhesion as all the tested conventional implant metals. The adherence of S. epidermidis to biomaterials was not significantly (P < 0.05) different between the materials tested. This suggests that DLC-PTFE-h films could be used as a biomaterial coating without increasing the risk of implant-related infections. PMID:21243516

Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) has been shown to be an effective method for producing a wide variety of thin films of high-value-added materials. The high average powers and high pulse repetition frequencies of lasers under development at LLNL make it possible to scale-up PLD processes that have been demonstrated in small systems in a number of university, government, and private laboratories to industrially meaningful, economically feasible technologies. A copper vapor laser system at LLNL has been utilized to demonstrate high rate PLD of high quality diamond-like-carbon (DLC) from graphite targets. The deposition rates for PLD obtained with a 100 W laser were {approx} 2000 {mu}m{center_dot}cm{sup 2}/h, or roughly 100 times larger than those reported by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods. Good adhesion of thin (up to 2 pm) films has been achieved on a small number of substrates that include SiO{sub 2} and single crystal Si. Present results indicate that the best quality DLC films can be produced at optimum rates at power levels and wavelengths compatible with fiber optic delivery systems. If this is also true of other desirable coating systems, this PLD technology could become an extremely attractive industrial tool for high value added coatings.

Diamond-like amorphous carbon (DLC) films have been grown by pulsed-dc plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition on silicon wafers, which were previously patterned by means of colloidal lithography. The substrate conditioning comprised two steps: first, deposition of a self-assembled monolayer of silica sub-micrometre spheres (~300 nm) on monocrystalline silicon (~5 cm2) by Langmuir-Blodgett technique, which acted as lithography template; second, substrate patterning via ion beam etching (argon) of the colloid samples (550 eV) at different incidence angles. The plasma deposition of a DLC thin film on the nanotextured substrates resulted in hard coatings with distinctly different surface properties compared with planar DLC. Also, in-plane anisotropy was generated depending on the etching angle. The samples were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The anisotropy introduced by the texture was evidenced in the surface properties, as shown by the directional dependences of wettability (water contact angle) and friction coefficient. The latter was measured using a nanotribometer and a lateral force microscope. These two techniques showed how the nanopatterns influenced the tribological properties at different scales of load and contact area. This fabrication technique finds applications in the industry of microelectromechanical systems, anisotropic tribological coatings, nanoimprint lithography, microfluidics, photonic crystals, and patterned surfaces for biomedicine.

A method of synthesizing metal doped carbon films by placing a substrate in a chamber with a selected amount of a metalorganic compound. An electron cyclotron resonance is applied to the chamber in order to vaporize the metalorganic compound. The resonance is applied to the chamber until a metal doped carbon film is formed. The metalorganic compound is preferably selected from the group consisting of an organic salt of ruthenium, palladium, gold or platinum.

Currently several institutes worldwide are working on the development of a new generation of ultracold neutron (UCN) sources. In parallel with source development, new materials for guiding and storage of UCN are developed. Currently the best results have been achieved using 58Ni, Be, solid O2 and low temperature Fomblin oil (LTF). All of these materials have their shortcomings like cost, toxicity or difficulty of use. A novel very promising material is diamondlikecarbon (DLC). Several techniques exist to coat surfaces, and industrial applications (e.g., for extremely hard surfaces) are already wide spread. Preliminary investigations using neutron reflectometry at PSI and Los Alamos yielded a critical velocity for DLC of about 7 m/s thus comparable to Beryllium. A low upper limit of depolarization probability for stored polarized UCN has been measured at the PF2 facility of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) by North Carolina State University (NCSU), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI), thus making it also a good material for storage and guidance of polarized UCN. Still missing is the loss probability per bounce. We will be able to extract this number and a more stringent value for the depolarization from our experiment thus proving the suitability of DLC as a wall material for a wide range of UCN applications. PMID:27308136

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films, used as molds for nanoimprint lithography, were treated with a fluorocarbon-based plasma in order to enhance their anti-adhesion properties. While ellipsometry and atomic force microscope measurements showed negligible changes in thickness and surface roughness after plasma processing, contact angle measurement found fluorine plasma-treated DLC surfaces to be highly hydrophobic, with surface energy values reduced from approximately 45 mJ m(-2) for untreated films to approximately 20-30 mJ m(-2) after fluorination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a thin (from approximately 0.5 to approximately 3 nm) fluorocarbon layer on the DLC surface. Proposed mechanisms for the formation of this layer include two competing processes: etching of DLC and deposition of fluorocarbon material, with one or the other mechanism dominant, depending on the plasma conditions. Fluorocarbon plasma-treated DLC molds for nanoimprint lithography were used to pattern sub-20 nm size features with a high degree of repeatability, demonstrating an extended lifetime of the anti-adhesion coating. PMID:19420525

The surfaces of implantable biomaterials improving biocompatibility and bioinertness are critical for new application of bioimplantable devices. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) film is a promising biomaterial with use for coating bioimplantable devices because of its good biocompatibility, bioinertness, and mechanical properties. In this study, concurrent improvement in biocompatibility and bioinertness of DLC films has been achieved using N-incorporation technique. The N doping degree was found to play an important role in affecting the biocompatibility and bioinertness of N-doped DLC films. The results indicated that the N-doped DLC films deposited at N(2) concentration of 5% could help to create suitable condition of surface/structure/adhesion combination of DLC films in the both affinity of the L929 mouse fibroblasts and electrochemical inertness in the Hank's balanced salt solutions (simulating human body fluids). N doping supports the attachment and proliferation of cells and prevents the permeation of electrolyte solutions, thereby simultaneity improved the biocompatibility and bioinertness of DLC films. This finding is useful for the fabrication and encapsulation of in vivo devices without induced immune response in the human body. PMID:22829476

Aim of this laboratory-directed research and development (LDRD) project was to develop diamond and/or diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films for electronic applications. Quality of diamond and DLC films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is not adequate for electronic applications. Nucleation of diamond grains during growth typically results in coarse films that must be very thick in order to be physically continuous. DLC films grown by CVD are heavily hydrogenated and are stable to temperatures {le} 400{degrees}C. However, diamond and DLC`s exceptional electronic properties make them candidates for integration into a variety of microelectronic structures. This work studied new techniques for the growth of both materials. Template layers have been developed for the growth of CVD diamond films resulting in a significantly higher nucleation density on unscratched or unprepared Si surfaces. Hydrogen-free DLC with temperature stability {le} 800{degrees}C has been developed using energetic growth methods such as high-energy pulsed-laser deposition. Applications with the largest system impact include electron-emitting materials for flat-panel displays, dielectrics for interconnects, diffusion barriers, encapsulants, and nonvolatile memories, and tribological coatings that reduce wear and friction in integrated micro-electro-mechanical devices.

WC-Co cutting tools are widely used in the machining industry. The application of diamond coatings on the surfaces of the tools would prolong the cutting lifetime and improves the manufacturing efficiency. However, direct chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond coatings on WC-Co suffer from severe premature adhesion failure due to interfacial graphitization induced by the binder phase Co. In this research, a combination of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrogen (H2) plasma pretreatments and a novel double interlayer of carbide forming element (CFE)/Al were developed to enhance diamond nucleation and adhesion. The results showed that both the pretreatments and interlayers were effective in forming continuous and adhesive nanocrystalline diamond coatings. The method is a promising replacement of the hazardous Murakami's regent currently used in WC-Co pretreatment with a more environmental friendly approach. Apart from coatings, diamond can be fabricated into other forms of nanostructures, such as nanotips. In this work, it was demonstrated that oriented diamond nanotip arrays can be fabricated by ion beam etching of as-grown CVD diamond. The orientation of diamond nanotips can be controlled by adjusting the direction of incident ion beam. This method overcomes the limits of other techniques in producing nanotip arrays on large areas with controlled orientation. Oriented diamond nano-tip arrays have been used to produce anisotropic frictional surface, which is successfully used in ultra-precision positioning systems. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has many properties comparable to diamond. In this thesis, the preparation of alpha-C:H thin films by end-Hall (EH) ion source and the effects of ion energy and nitrogen doping on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-deposited thin films were investigated. The results have demonstrated that smooth and uniform alpha-C:H and alpha-C:H:N films with large area and reasonably high hardness and Young's modulus can be

The search for target materials suitable for High Power Laser Experiments at ultralow thicknesses (below ten nanometres) is ongoing. Diamond-LikeCarbon is investigated as an answer for a low-Z material that can survive target chamber pump-down and laser prepulse. DLC was produced using Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition, using with varying gas flow mixtures of argon and methane. The methane plasma deposits amorphous carbon onto the substrate and the argon plasma re-sputters the weakly bonded carbon leaving a high proportion of diamond-like bonding. Bonding natures were probed using Raman spectroscopy; analysis of the resulting spectrum showed that flow rates of 40sccm/60sccm methane to argon produced DLC films with a diamond-like (sp 3) content of ∼20%. Increasing the methane gas flow decreased this value to less than 5%. DLC foils were processed into laser targets by method of float off; using a sodium chloride release layer and lowering into water, this was then lifted onto an array of apertures allowing for laser irradiation of the material with no backing. DLC with 20% sp 3 content showed superior yield when compared to other materials such as metals and some plastics of the same thickness, with ∼70% of the target positions surviving the float off procedure at <10nm. As a result of this work DLC targets have been available for a number of experiments at the Central Laser Facility.

The objective of the present study was to elucidate general and local characteristics of the tissue reactions to the implantation of radiation-modified polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based fluoroplast F-4PM20 with a diamond-likecarbon (DLC) nanocoating or with the diamond-likecarboncoating containing the dispersed nano-sized silver particles to the experimental animals (rats). A total of 150 inbred white rats were included into the experiment; they were divided into 3 groups comprised of 50 animals each. The rats in group 1 were implanted with the 5 nm thick strips of fluoroplast F-4PM20 having the diamond-likecarbon nanocoating. The animals of group 2 were implanted with the same material containing nanoparticles of chemically pure silver dispersed in the coating, those in group 3 (controls) were implanted with the fluoroplast F-4PM20 without a coating. The animals were sacrificed on days 7, 21, 30, and 60 days after the onset of the experiment. The tissues surrounding the implant as well as heart, lung, spleen, liver, and kidney tissues were taken for the histological study. The local reactions of different tissues were found to be uniform even though there was an apparent tendency toward the less pronounced granulation and scarification processes in the animals implanted with the diamond-likecarboncoating containing the dispersed nano-sized silver particles. In none of the groups, the animals exhibited statistically significant lymphoid tissue hyperplasia in the spleen which suggested the activation of the immune system in response to implantation. It is concluded that the PTFE-based fluoroplast F-4PM20 implants with the 5 nm thick DLC coating and a similar coating containing the dispersed nano-sized silver particles can be applied for middle ear reconstructive surgery, being a histologically compatible material that does not cause an inflammatory degenerative response of the tissues. PMID:25246203

The growth of diamondlikecarbon (DLC) on a Pyrex glass was investigated by a radio frequency (RF) atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). The plasma jet with capacitive configuration ran by a radio frequency power supply at 13.56 MHz. Alumina ceramic was used as dielectric barrier. Ar and CH4 were used in atmospheric pressure as carrier and precursor gases, respectively. Diamondlikecarbon thin films were deposited on Pyrex glass at substrate temperature and applied power of 130 °C and 250 Watts, respectively. Performing field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and laser Raman spectroscopy analysis resulted in deposition rate and the ID/IG ratio of 21.31 nm/min and 0.47, respectively. The ID/IG ratio indicated that the coating possesses relative high sp3 content The optical emission spectroscopy (OES) diagnostic was applied to diagnose plasma jet species. Estimating electron temperature and density of the RF-APPJ resulted in 1.36 eV and 2.75 × 1014 cm-3 at the jet exit, respectively.

This study examined the friction and wear behavior of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films deposited from a radio frequency glow discharge using a hydrogen diluted benzene gas mixture. The DLC films were deposited on Si (1 0 0) and polished stainless steel substrates by radio frequency plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (r.f.-PACVD) at hydrogen to benzene ratios, or the hydrogen dilution ratio, ranging from 0 to 2.0. The wear test was carried out in both ambient and aqueous environments using a homemade ball-on-disk type wear rig. The stability of the DLC coating in an aqueous environment was improved by diluting the benzene precursor gas with hydrogen, suggesting that hydrogen dilution during the deposition of DLC films suppressed the initiation of defects in the film and improved the adhesion of the coating to the interface.

A 790 nm, 130 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulse ablated various frozen alcohols (CnH2n + 1OH, n = 1-6) to deposit diamond-likecarbon (DLC) thin films. The larger the carbon number (n) of the alcohols, the higher the hydrogen content of the DLC films; the sp3 carbon content ranged from 35 to 45%. The hydrogen content caused a change in the optical band gap of the films. Moreover, the deposition rate of the films increased linearly as the carbon number increased. The deposition rate did not simply relate to the amount of carbon species ejected from the frozen alcohols. Even though carbon species were largely generated, the ejected oxygen radicals etched the carbon to lower the deposition rate. When we used frozen benzene as a laser target, DLC thin films were not deposited. By dissolving boric acid in an alcohol, we could deposit boron-doped DLC thin films.

Synthetic diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is a carbon-based material used mainly in cutting tool coatings and as an abrasive material. The market for DLC has expanded into electronics, optics, and acoustics because of its distinct electrical and optical properties. In this work, n-doped DLC (N:DLC) films were deposited on p-type silicon substrates using an unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBMS) method. We investigated the effect of the working pressure on the microstructure and electrical properties of n-doped DLC films. The structural properties of N:DLC films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDX, and the electrical properties of films were investigated by observing the changes in the resistivity and current-voltage (I-V) properties. The N:DLC films prepared by UBMS in this study demonstrated good conducting and physical properties with n-doping. PMID:27483841

Hard diamond-likecarbon films were deposited on Si(100) substrates using a CH4 plasma created through electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating. The ECR plasma was excited by a Lisitano coil. These films could be deposited with a negative dc bias (-200 V) or a RF-induced negative self-bias (-100 V) on the substrates. The deposition rate of the film was about 2.3 A/s. The deposited films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure analysis.

Hard diamond-likecarbon films were deposited on Si(100) substrates using a CH{sub 4} plasma created through electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating. The ECR plasma was excited by a Lisitano coil. These films could be deposited with a negative dc bias ({minus}200 V) or a rf-induced negative self-bias ({minus}100 V) on the substrates. The deposition rate of the film was about 2.3 A/s. The deposited films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure analysis.

Diamond-likecarbon nanocomposite films with embedded silver nanoparticles are considered experimentally (spectroellipsometric characterization) and theoretically (modeling of optical properties). Metallic nanocomposite films were synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering and were studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The optical constants of the films were determined from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements and were modeled using the Maxwell-Garnett approximations. Comparison between the extended and renormalized Maxwell-Garnett theory was conducted. Surface plasmon resonance peak have been found to be strongly dependent on the shape of nanoparticles and interaction between them. PMID:25977645

This panel attempted to identify and prioritize research and development needs in determining the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of diamond and diamond-like-carbon films (D/DLCF). Three specific goals were established. They were: (1) To identify problem areas which produce concern and require a better knowledge of D/DLCF properties. (2) To identify and prioritize key properties of D/DLCF to promote transportation applications. (3) To identify needs for improvement in properties-measurement methods. Each of these goals is addressed subsequently.

Phase-change probe memory, as a promising candidate for next-generation storage device, usually requires a capping layer to protect phase-change media from wear and corrosion. Diamond-likecarbon film has been commonly used for capping layer due to its high mechanical hardness and easiness for tailoring physical properties. However, the possibility for such carbon thin film to react to surrounding oxygen when subjected to Joule heating during the recording process of phase-change probe memory is rarely investigated before from both experimental and simulation point of view. Therefore, a novel carbon oxidation model was developed to mimic the chemical reaction of carbon film to the surrounding oxygen in terms of the degradation of layer thickness. Results obtained from this model are in a good agreement with the experimental counterpart, indicating the physical reality of this proposed model. PMID:26369065

This study aims to assess the effects of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films on fretting wear behavior of orthodontic archwire-bracket contacts. 'Mirror-confinement-type electron cyclotron resonance (MCECR) plasma sputtering' was utilized to deposit carbon films on stainless steel archwires and brackets. Nanostructure of carbon films such as the bonding structure, cross-sectional thickness and surface roughness were studied. The fretting wear behavior of various archwire-bracket contacts were investigated by using a self-developed tester in ambient air and artificial saliva. The results indicated that DLC-coated wires showed significantly low friction coefficient than the uncoated wires independently of the applied environments. Nevertheless, the DLC-coated and uncoated brackets showed no significant differences in the friction coefficient. Microscopic analysis showed that low wear took place for the DLC-coated surfaces. It is proposed that the application of DLC coating on archwires can decrease the orthodontic fretting wear and coefficient of friction. Unfortunately it does not affect the frictional properties for brackets at present. PMID:26369091

The friction behavior of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is very sensitive to the test environment. For hydrogen-rich DLC tested in dry argon and hydrogen, there was always an induction period, so-called "run-in" period, during which the friction coefficient was high and gradually decreased before DLC showed an ultralow friction coefficient (less than 0.01) behavior. Regardless of friction coefficients and hydrogen contents, small amounts of wear were observed in dry argon, hydrogen, oxygen, and humid argon environments. Surprisingly, there were no wear or rubbing scar on DLC surfaces tested in n-pentanol vapor conditions, although the friction coefficient was relatively high among the five test environments. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron and near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy analyses failed to reveal any differences in chemical composition attributable to the environment dependence of DLC friction and wear. The failure of getting chemical information of oxygenated surface species from the ex situ analysis was found to be due to facile oxidation of the DLC surface upon exposure to air. The removal or wear of this surface oxide layer is responsible for the run-in behavior of DLC. It was discovered that the alcohol vapor can also prevent the oxidized DLC surface from wear in humid air conditions. PMID:21888344

Titanium/diamond-likecarbon multilayer (TDML) films were deposited using a hybrid system combining radio frequency (RF)-sputtering and RF-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) techniques under a varied number of Ti/diamond-likecarbon (DLC) bilayers from 1 to 4, at high base pressure of 1 × 10(-3) Torr. The multilayer approach was used to create unique structures such as nanospheres and nanorods in TDML films, which is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and explained by a hypothetical model. Surface composition was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), whereas energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer (ToF-SIMS) measurements were performed to investigate the bulk composition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to evaluate the phase and crystallinity of the deposited TDML films. Residual stress in these films was found to be significantly low. These TDML films were found to have excellent nanomechanical properties with maximum hardness of 41.2 GPa. In addition, various nanomechanical parameters were calculated and correlated with each other. Owing to metallic interfacial layer of Ti in multilayer films, the optical properties, electrical properties, and photoluminescence were improved significantly. Due to versatile nanomechanical properties and biocompatibility of DLC and DLC based films, these TDML films may also find applications in biomedical science. PMID:21942626

A single and dual ion beam system was used to generate amorphous carbon films with diamondlike properties. A methane/argon mixture at a molar ratio of 0.28 was ionized in the low pressure discharge chamber of a 30-cm-diameter ion source. A second ion source, 8 cm in diameter was used to direct a beam of 600 eV Argon ions on the substrates (fused silica or silicon) while the deposition from the 30-cm ion source was taking place. Nuclear reaction and combustion analysis indicate H/C ratios for the films to be 1.00. This high value of H/C, it is felt, allowed the films to have good transmittance. The films were impervious to reagents which dissolve graphitic and polymeric carbon structures. Although the measured density of the films was approximately 1.8 gm/cu cm, a value lower than diamond, the films exhibited other properties that were relatively close to diamond. These films were compared with diamondlike films generated by sputtering a graphite target.

There have been several reports on improvements of the performance of all solid-state battery using lithium metal oxide coatings on the cathode active material. However, the mechanism of the performance improvement remains unclear. To better understand the effect of the surface coating, we studied the impact of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating on LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The DLC coated NCA showed good cycle ability and rate performance. This result is further supported by reduction of the interfacial resistance of the cathode and electrolyte observed in impedance spectroscopy. The DLC layer was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy electron energy loss spectroscopy (TEM-EELS). After 100 cycles the sample was analyzed by X-ray photo spectroscopy (XPS), and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). These analyses showed that the thickness of the coating layer was around 4 nm on average, acting to hinder the side reactions between the cathode particle and the solid electrolyte. The results of this study will provide useful insights for understanding the nature of the buffer layer for the cathode materials.

This contribution describes the development of nitrogen-doped diamond-likecarbon (N-DLC) thin films for multi-reflection mid-infrared (MIR) attenuated total reflectance (IR-ATR) spectroelectrochemistry. N-DLC coatings were deposited using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) involving the ablation of a high purity graphite target. The DLC matrix was further modified by ablating the target in the presence of nitrogen gas. This technique offers the advantage of depositing thin films at room temperature, thereby enabling coating of temperature-sensitive substrates including e.g., MIR waveguides. The resulting films were analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and determined to be composed of carbon, nitrogen, and adventitious oxygen. Raman spectroscopic studies indicate that the addition of nitrogen induces further clustering and ordering of the sp(2)-hybridized carbon phase. The electrochemical activity of PLD fabricated N-DLC films was verified using the Ru(NH(3))(3+/2+) redox couple, and was determined to be comparable with that of other carbon-based electrodes. In situ spectroelectrochemical studies involving N-DLC coated zinc selenide (ZnSe) MIR waveguides provided evidence concerning the oxidation of N-DLC at anodic potentials in 1 M HClO(4) solutions. Finally, the electropolymerization of polyaniline (PAni) was performed at N-DLC-modified waveguide surfaces, which enabled spectroscopic monitoring of the electropolymerization, as well as in situ studying the structural conversion of PAni at different potentials. PMID:21373709

Thin diamond-likecarbon films were subjected to fluorination with gaseous XeF{sub 2} under ultrahigh vacuum conditions in order to increase the work function of the diamond-likecarbon surface. Changes in the work function and surface composition were monitored with UV photoemission spectroscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, respectively. Successive XeF{sub 2} exposures raised the work function by as much as 1.55 eV. Surprisingly, approximately half of the increase in the work function occurred while the coverage of fluorine remained below 0.02 monolayers (ML). This suggests that initial doses of XeF{sub 2} remove extrinsic adsorbates from the diamond-likecarbon film and that fluorine desorbs with the reaction products. Increasing the exposure of the diamond-likecarbon to XeF{sub 2} leads to the expected covalent fluorination of the surface, which saturates at fluorine coverages of 6 F atoms/nm{sup 2} ({approx}0.3 ML). Annealing of the diamond-likecarbon to temperatures above 850 K was required to reduce the surface fluorine concentration to undetectable levels. This did not, however, cause the work function to return to its original, prefluorination value.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is an attractive biomaterial for coating human implantable devices. Our particular research interest is in developing DLC as a coating material for implants and electrical devices for the nervous system. We previously reported that DLC is not toxic to N2a neuroblastoma cells or primary cortical neurons and showed that phosphorus-doped DLC (P:DLC) could be used to produce patterned neuron networks. In the present study we complement and extend these findings by exploring patterning of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) explants, human neural progenitor cells (hNPC) and U-87 astroglioma cells on P:DLC. Further P:DLC data is provided to highlight that P:DLC can be used as an effective coating material for in vitro multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) with potential for patterning groups of neurons on selected electrodes. We also introduce ultraviolet (UV) irradiation as a simple treatment to render DLC neurocompatible. We show that UV:DLC can be used to support patterned and unpatterned cortical neuron growth. These findings strongly support the use of DLC as tailorable and tuneable substrate to study neural cell biology in vitro and in vivo. We conclude that DLC is a well-suited candidate material for coating implantable devices in the human nervous system. PMID:19833386

This patent describes a method of making a Josephson junction. It comprises depositing upon a substrate a first layer of high-temperature superconductive oxide having a critical temperature above 23 K.; depositing on the first layer to a thickness in excess of 200 angstroms an insulating layer of diamond-likecarbon resistant to cation diffusion therethrough and incapable of interdiffusing with superconductive oxides of the junction; plasma etching the insulating layer to leave the insulating layer with a thickness of 20 to 100 angstroms on the first layer; to leave a continuous film thereof on the first layer of a thickness of 20 to 100 angstroms; and depositing on the insulating layer a second layer of high-temperature superconductive oxide having a critical temperature above 23 K. and forming with the first layer and the insulating layer a Josephson junction at a temperature at least equal to one of the critical temperatures.

Structure and properties of Cu-doped diamond-likecarbon films (DLC) were investigated using ab initio calculations. The effect of Cu concentrations (1.56∼7.81 at.%) on atomic bond structure was mainly analyzed to clarify the residual stress reduction mechanism. Results showed that with introducing Cu into DLC films, the residual compressive stress decreased firstly and then increased for each case with the obvious deterioration of mechanical properties, which was in agreement with the experimental results. Structural analysis revealed that the weak Cu-C bond and the relaxation of both the distorted bond angles and bond lengths accounted for the significant reduction of residual compressive stress, while at the higher Cu concentration the increase of residual stress attributed to the existence of distorted Cu-C structures and the increased fraction of distorted C-C bond lengths.

The molecular structural basis for the function of specific peptides that bind to diamond-likecarbon (DLC) surfaces was investigated. For this, a competition assay that provided a robust way of comparing relative affinities of peptide variants was set up. Point mutations of specific residues resulted in significant effects, but it was shown that the chemical composition of the peptide was not sufficient to explain peptide affinity. More significantly, rearrangements in the sequence indicated that the binding is a complex recognition event that is dependent on the overall structure of the peptide. The work demonstrates the unique properties of peptides for creating functionality at interfaces via noncovalent binding for potential applications in, for example, nanomaterials, biomedical materials, and sensors. PMID:25007096

Engineered materials with feature sizes on the order of a few nanometres offer the potential for producing metamaterials with properties which may differ significantly from their bulk counterpart. Here we describe the production of plasmonic colour filters using periodic arrays of nanoscale cross shaped apertures fabricated in optically opaque silver films. Due to its relatively low loss in the visible and near infrared range, silver is a popular choice for plasmonic devices, however it is also unstable in wet or even ambient conditions. Here we show that ultra-thin layers of Diamond-LikeCarbon (DLC) can be used to prevent degradation due to oxidative stress, ageing and corrosion. We demonstrate that DLC effectively protects the sub-micron features which make up the plasmonic colour filter under both atmospheric conditions and accelerated aging using iodine gas. Through a systematic study we confirm that the nanometre thick DLC layers have no effect on the device functionality or performance.

The use of phage display to select material-specific peptides provides a general route towards modification and functionalization of surfaces and interfaces. However, a rational structural engineering of the peptides for optimal affinity is typically not feasible because of insufficient structure-function understanding. Here, we investigate the influence of multivalency of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) binding peptides on binding characteristics. We show that facile linking of peptides together using different lengths of spacers and multivalency leads to a tuning of affinity and kinetics. Notably, increased length of spacers in divalent systems led to significantly increased affinities. Making multimers influenced also kinetic aspects of surface competition. Additionally, the multivalent peptides were applied as surface functionalization components for a colloidal form of DLC. The work suggests the use of a set of linking systems to screen parameters for functional optimization of selected material-specific peptides. PMID:25522202

The combination of low friction, wear resistance, high hardness, biocompatibility and chemical inertness makes diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films suitable in a numerous applications in biomedical engineering. The cell viability and adhesion of L929 mouse fibroblasts was investigated using two different colorimetric assays: (i) 2-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-3,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and (ii) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The films were growth on 316L stainless steel substrates using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique from a dispersion of TiO2 nanopowder in hexane. The increasing concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles in DLC films enhanced the mitochondrial activity and decreases the LDH activity on these samples. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy corroborate the results. These experiments show the potential use of DLC and TiO2-DLC films in biomedical applications.

A quantitative method using Rockwell C indentation was developed to study the adhesion of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) protective coatings to the CoCrMo biomedical implant alloy when immersed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution at 37 degrees C. Two kinds of coatings with thicknesses ranging from 0.5 up to 16 microns were investigated, namely DLC and DLC/Si-DLC, where Si-DLC denotes a 90 nm thick DLC interlayer containing Si. The time-dependent delamination of the coating around the indentation was quantified by means of optical investigations of the advancing crack front and calculations of the induced stress using the finite element method (FEM). The cause of delamination for both types of coatings was revealed to be stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) of the interface material. For the DLC coating a typical SCC behavior was observed, including a threshold region (60J m(-2)) and a "stage 1" crack propagation with a crack-growth exponent of 3.0, comparable to that found for ductile metals. The DLC/Si-DLC coating exhibits an SCC process with a crack-growth exponent of 3.3 and a threshold region at 470 Jm(-2), indicating an adhesion in PBS at 37 degrees C that is about eight times better than that of the DLC coating. The SCC curves were fitted to the reaction controlled model typically used to explain the crack propagation in bulk soda lime glass. As this model falls short of accurately describing all the SCC curves, limitations of its application to the interface between a brittle coating and a ductile substrate are discussed. PMID:19450711

Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) coatings have been proven to be an excellent choice for wear reduction in many technical applications. However, for successful adaption to the orthopaedic field, layer performance, stability and adhesion in physiologically relevant setups are crucial and not consistently investigated. In vitro wear testing as well as adequate corrosion tests of interfaces and interlayers are of great importance to verify the long term stability of DLC coated load bearing implants in the human body. DLC coatings were deposited on articulating lumbar spinal disks made of CoCr28Mo6 biomedical implant alloy using a plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) process. As an adhesion promoting interlayer, tantalum films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Wear tests of coated and uncoated implants were performed in physiological solution up to a maximum of 101 million articulation cycles with an amplitude of ±2° and -3/+6° in successive intervals at a preload of 1200 N. The implants were characterized by gravimetry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and cross section scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. It is shown that DLC coated surfaces with uncontaminated tantalum interlayers perform very well and no corrosive or mechanical failure could be observed. This also holds true in tests featuring overload and third-body wear by cortical bone chips present in the bearing pairs. Regarding the interlayer tolerance towards interlayer contamination (oxygen), limits for initiation of potential failure modes were established. It was found that mechanical failure is the most critical aspect and this mode is hypothetically linked to the α-β tantalum phase switch induced by increasing oxygen levels as observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is concluded that DLC coatings are a feasible candidate for near zero wear articulations on implants, potentially even surpassing the performance of ceramic vs. ceramic. PMID

Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) coatings have been proven to be an excellent choice for wear reduction in many technical applications. However, for successful adaption to the orthopaedic field, layer performance, stability and adhesion in physiologically relevant setups are crucial and not consistently investigated. In vitro wear testing as well as adequate corrosion tests of interfaces and interlayers are of great importance to verify the long term stability of DLC coated load bearing implants in the human body. DLC coatings were deposited on articulating lumbar spinal disks made of CoCr28Mo6 biomedical implant alloy using a plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) process. As an adhesion promoting interlayer, tantalum films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Wear tests of coated and uncoated implants were performed in physiological solution up to a maximum of 101 million articulation cycles with an amplitude of ±2° and −3/+6° in successive intervals at a preload of 1200 N. The implants were characterized by gravimetry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and cross section scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. It is shown that DLC coated surfaces with uncontaminated tantalum interlayers perform very well and no corrosive or mechanical failure could be observed. This also holds true in tests featuring overload and third-body wear by cortical bone chips present in the bearing pairs. Regarding the interlayer tolerance towards interlayer contamination (oxygen), limits for initiation of potential failure modes were established. It was found that mechanical failure is the most critical aspect and this mode is hypothetically linked to the α-β tantalum phase switch induced by increasing oxygen levels as observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is concluded that DLC coatings are a feasible candidate for near zero wear articulations on implants, potentially even surpassing the performance of ceramic vs. ceramic. PMID

In this study, we investigated the effects of various source gases (i. e., methane, ethane, ethylene, acetylene and methane + hydrogen) on friction and wear performance of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films. Specifically, we described the anomalous nature and fundamental friction and wear mechanisms of DLC films derived from gas discharge plasmas with very low to very high hydrogen content. The films were deposited on steel substrates by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process at room temperature and the tribological tests were performed in dry nitrogen. The results of tribological tests revealed a close correlation between the friction and wear coefficients of the DLC films and the source gas chemistry. Specifically, films grown in source gases with higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratios had much lower friction coefficients and wear rates than the films derived from source gases with lower hydrogen-to-carbon ratios. The lowest friction coefficient (0.002) was achieved with a film derived from 25% methane--75% hydrogen while the films derived from acetylene had a coefficient of 0.15. Similar correlations were observed on wear rates. Specifically, the films derived from hydrogen rich plasmas had the least wear while the films derived from pure acetylene suffered the highest wear. We used a combination of scanning and transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to characterize the structural chemistry of the resultant DLC films.

Porous diamond-likecarbon (DLC) electrodes have been prepared, and their electrochemical performance was explored. For electrode preparation, a thin DLC film was deposited onto a densely packed forest of highly porous, vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (VACNT). DLC deposition caused the tips of the carbon nanotubes to clump together to form a microstructured surface with an enlarged surface area. DLC:VACNT electrodes show fast charge transfer, which is promising for several electrochemical applications, including electroanalysis. DLC:VACNT electrodes were applied to the determination of targeted molecules such as dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (EP), which are neurotransmitters/hormones, and acetaminophen (AC), an endocrine disruptor. Using simple and low-cost techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry, analytical curves in the concentration range from 10 to 100 μmol L(-1) were obtained and excellent analytical parameters achieved, including high analytical sensitivity, good response stability, and low limits of detection of 2.9, 4.5, and 2.3 μmol L(-1) for DA, EP, and AC, respectively. PMID:25402230

A large number of silicon (Si) patterns consisting of nanopillars of varying diameter and pitch have been fabricated and further coated with diamond-likecarbon (DLC) and perfluoropolyether (Z-DOL) films. The wetting behavior and nano-adhesion/friction of the patterns are investigated experimentally in relation to the nanostructures and the hydrophobicity of the materials. Measurements of water contact angle illustrate that the patterning-enhanced wettability of the Si flat surface, along with two distinct wettings which are in good agreement with the Wenzel and hemi-wicking states, depended on the value of the pitch-over-diameter ratio. In the case of the coated patterns, three wetting states are observed: the Cassie-Baxter, the Wenzel, and a transition from the Cassie-Baxter into the Wenzel, which varies with regard to the hydrophobic properties of the DLC and Z-DOL. In terms of tribological properties, it is demonstrated that a combination of the nanopatterns and the films is effective in reducing adhesive and frictional forces. In addition, the pitch and diameter of the patterns are found to significantly influence their adhesion/friction behaviors.

Thin amorphous carbon films are deposited on silicon substrates by exposure to pulsed plasmas where the feed gas is mainly generated from the ablation of an insulator. An electrothermal pulsed plasma thruster with a discharge room in an insulator rod is used as the pulsed plasma for the ablation of the insulator, and the material of the insulator rod is poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE). The pulsed plasma, in which the estimated electron density is on the order of 1022-1023 m-3, is generated by the stored energy in the capacitor. The deposition rate, which depends on the stored energy, is lower than 1 nm per pulse in our experiment. The maximum hardness measured using a nanoindenter is about 7 GPa at a stored energy of about 2.7 J, beyond which the hardness of the films decreases with the increase in stored energy. Raman spectroscopy is also carried out to examine the formation of fluorinated diamond-likecarbon films. In addition, the influence of dilution gas on the properties of the deposited films is also investigated.

The composition of amorphous 'diamond-like' films made by direct low energy ion beam deposition, R.F. discharge and sputtering was determined by nuclear reaction analysis, IR spectroscopy and microcombustion chemical analysis. The nuclear reaction analysis showed very similar hydrogen depth profiles for all three types of samples. The atomic ratio of hydrogen to carbon was approximately 0.2 at the film surface and rose to approximately 1.0 at a depth of 500 A. The integrated intensity of the C-H stretching band at about 2900 per cm indicates that the amount of chemically bonded hydrogen is less than the total hydrogen content. Combustion analysis confirmed the overall atomic ratio of hydrogen to carbon determined by nuclear reaction analysis. The chemical state of the non-bonded hydrogen was not determined; however, the effective diffusion coefficient computed from the hydrogen depth profile was extremely low. This indicates either that the films are exceedingly impermeable or that the non-bonded hydrogen requires an additional activated step to leave the films, e.g., desorption or chemical reaction.

An Ar/CH4 atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (AP-DBD) was used to synthesize sticky hydrophobic diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films on glass surface. The film is formed with plasma treatment duration shorter than 30 s, and water contact angles larger than 90° together with contact angle hysteresis larger than 10° can be achieved. According to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy analysis, hydrocarbon functional groups are created on the glass substrate, producing coatings with low surface energy (˜35 mJ m-2) with no modification of the surface roughness. To infer the plasma processes leading to the formation of low energy DLC surfaces, optical emission spectroscopy was used. From the results, a direct relationship between the CH species present in the plasma and the carbon concentration in the hydrophobic layer was found, which suggests that the CH species are the precursors of DLC film growth. Additionally, the plasma gas temperature was measured to be below 350 K which highlights the suitability of using AP-DBD to treat thermo-sensitive surfaces.

Carbon nanotubes are of wide interest due to their excellent properties such as tensile strength and electrical and thermal conductivity, but are not, when placed alone on a substrate, well resistant to mechanical wear. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC), on the other hand, is widely used in applications due to its very good wear resistance. Combining the two materials could provide a very durable pure carbon nanomaterial enabling to benefit from the best properties of both carbon allotropes. However, the synthesis of high-quality diamond-likecarbon uses energetic plasmas, which can damage the nanotubes. From previous works it is neither clear whether the quality of the tubes remains good after DLC deposition, nor whether the DLC above the tubes retains the high sp3 bonding fraction. In this work, we use experiments and classical molecular dynamics simulations to study the mechanisms of DLC formation on various carbon nanotube compositions. The results show that high-sp3-content DLC can be formed provided the deposition conditions allow for sidewards pressure to form from a substrate close beneath the tubes. Under optimal DLC formation energies of around 40-70 eV, the top two nanotube atom layers are fully destroyed by the plasma deposition, but layers below this can retain their structural integrity.

Carbon nanotubes are of wide interest due to their excellent properties such as tensile strength and electrical and thermal conductivity, but are not, when placed alone on a substrate, well resistant to mechanical wear. Diamond-likecarbon (DLC), on the other hand, is widely used in applications due to its very good wear resistance. Combining the two materials could provide a very durable pure carbon nanomaterial enabling to benefit from the best properties of both carbon allotropes. However, the synthesis of high-quality diamond-likecarbon uses energetic plasmas, which can damage the nanotubes. From previous works it is neither clear whether the quality of the tubes remains good after DLC deposition, nor whether the DLC above the tubes retains the high sp{sup 3} bonding fraction. In this work, we use experiments and classical molecular dynamics simulations to study the mechanisms of DLC formation on various carbon nanotube compositions. The results show that high-sp{sup 3}-content DLC can be formed provided the deposition conditions allow for sidewards pressure to form from a substrate close beneath the tubes. Under optimal DLC formation energies of around 40–70 eV, the top two nanotube atom layers are fully destroyed by the plasma deposition, but layers below this can retain their structural integrity.

In the present study, diamond-likecarbon films with embedded Ag nanoparticles (DLC:Ag) were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Structure of the films was investigated by Raman scattering spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy was used to define thickness of DLC:Ag films as well as to study the surface morphology and size distribution of Ag nanoparticles. Optical absorbance and reflectance spectra of the films were studied in the 180-1100-nm range. Air annealing effects on structure and optical properties of the DLC:Ag were investigated. Annealing temperatures were varied in the 180-400 °C range. Changes of size and shape of the Ag nanoclusters took place due to agglomeration. It was found that air annealing of DLC:Ag films can result in graphitization following destruction of the DLC matrix. Additional activation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect in DLC:Ag films can be achieved by properly selecting annealing conditions. Annealing resulted in blueshift as well as significant narrowing of the plasmonic absorbance and reflectance peaks. Moreover, quadrupole surface plasmon resonance peaks appeared. Modeling of absorption spectra of the nanoclusters depending on the shape and surrounding media has been carried out.

In the present study, diamond-likecarbon films with embedded Ag nanoparticles (DLC:Ag) were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Structure of the films was investigated by Raman scattering spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy was used to define thickness of DLC:Ag films as well as to study the surface morphology and size distribution of Ag nanoparticles. Optical absorbance and reflectance spectra of the films were studied in the 180-1100-nm range. Air annealing effects on structure and optical properties of the DLC:Ag were investigated. Annealing temperatures were varied in the 180-400 °C range. Changes of size and shape of the Ag nanoclusters took place due to agglomeration. It was found that air annealing of DLC:Ag films can result in graphitization following destruction of the DLC matrix. Additional activation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect in DLC:Ag films can be achieved by properly selecting annealing conditions. Annealing resulted in blueshift as well as significant narrowing of the plasmonic absorbance and reflectance peaks. Moreover, quadrupole surface plasmon resonance peaks appeared. Modeling of absorption spectra of the nanoclusters depending on the shape and surrounding media has been carried out. PMID:26979724

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films are potential candidates for artificial joint surface modification in biomedical applications, and the influence of the structural features of DLC surfaces on cell functions has attracted attention in recent decades. Here, the biocompatibility of DLC films with different structures was investigated using macrophages, osteoblasts and fibroblasts. The results showed that DLC films with a low ratio of sp(2)/sp(3), which tend to have a structure similar to that of diamond, led to less inflammatory, excellent osteogenic and fibroblastic reactions, with higher cell viability, better morphology, lower release of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) and IL-6 (interleukin-6), and higher release of IL-10 (interleukin-10). The results also demonstrated that the high-density diamond structure (low ratio of sp(2)/sp(3)) of DLC films is beneficial for cell adhesion and growth because of better protein adsorption without electrostatic repulsion. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying inhibition of an inflammatory response and the promotion of osteoblastogenesis and fibrous propagation, and effectively build a system for evaluating the biocompatibility of DLC films. PMID:27612769

Owing to its high carrier mobility and saturation velocity, graphene has attracted enormous attention in recent years. In particular, high-performance graphene transistors for radio-frequency (r.f.) applications are of great interest. Synthesis of large-scale graphene sheets of high quality and at low cost has been demonstrated using chemical vapour deposition (CVD) methods. However, very few studies have been performed on the scaling behaviour of transistors made from CVD graphene for r.f. applications, which hold great potential for commercialization. Here we report the systematic study of top-gated CVD-graphene r.f. transistors with gate lengths scaled down to 40 nm, the shortest gate length demonstrated on graphene r.f. devices. The CVD graphene was grown on copper film and transferred to a wafer of diamond-likecarbon. Cut-off frequencies as high as 155 GHz have been obtained for the 40-nm transistors, and the cut-off frequency was found to scale as 1/(gate length). Furthermore, we studied graphene r.f. transistors at cryogenic temperatures. Unlike conventional semiconductor devices where low-temperature performance is hampered by carrier freeze-out effects, the r.f. performance of our graphene devices exhibits little temperature dependence down to 4.3 K, providing a much larger operation window than is available for conventional devices. PMID:21475197

The work presents the results of a research carried out with Plasmalab Plus 100 system, manufactured by Oxford Instruments Company. The system was configured for deposition of diamond-likecarbon films by ICP PECVD method. The deposition processes were carried out in CH4 or CH4/H2 atmosphere and the state of the plasma was investigated by the OES method. The RF plasma was capacitively coupled by 13.56 MHz generator with supporting ICP generator (13.56 Mhz). The deposition processes were conducted in constant value of RF generator's power and resultant value of the DC Bias. The power values of RF generator was set at 70 W and the power values of ICP generator was set at 300 W. In this work we focus on the influence of DLC film's thickness on optical, electrical and structural properties of the deposited DLC films. The quality of deposited DLC layers was examined by the Raman spectroscopy, AFM microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. In the investigated DLC films the calculated sp3 content was ranging from 60 % to 70 %. The films were characterized by the refractive index ranging from 2.03 to 2.1 and extinction coefficient ranging from 0.09 to 0.12.

Hydrogen free DiamondlikeCarbon (DLC) thin films enriched with C-C sp3 bonding were grown on Si (111) substrates at laser pulse energies varying from 100 to 400 mJ (DLC-100, DLC-200, DLC-300, DLC-400), by Pulsed Laser Ablation (PLA) utilizing an Nd:YAG laser operating at fundamental wavelength. Structural, optical and morphological evolutions as a function of laser pulse energy were studied by micro Raman, UV-Vis spectroscopic studies and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively. Raman spectra analysis provided critical clues for the variation in sp3 content and optical energy gap. The sp3 content was estimated using the FWHM of the G peak and found to be in the range of 62-69%. The trend of evolution of sp3 content matches well with the evolution of ID/IG ratio with pulse energy. UV-Vis absorption study of DLC films revealed the variation of optical energy gap with laser pulse energy (1.88 - 2.23 eV), which matches well with the evolution of G-Peak position of the Raman spectra. AFM study revealed that roughness, size and density of particulate in DLC films increase with laser pulse energy.

In this paper we introduce mechanical and structural characteristics of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films which were prepared on silicon substrates by radio frequency (RF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method using methane (CH{sub 4}) and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) gas. The films were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 300 to 900 °C in steps of 200 °C using rapid thermal processor (RTP) in nitrogen ambient. Tribological properties of the DLC films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in friction force microscopy (FFM) mode. The structural properties of the films were obtained by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wettability of the films was obtained using contact angle measurement. XPS analysis showed that the sp{sup 3} content is decreased from 75.2% to 24.1% while the sp{sup 2} content is increased from 24.8% to 75.9% when the temperature is changed from 300 to 900 °C. The contact angles of DLC films were higher than 70°. The FFM measurement results show that the highest friction coefficient value was achieved at 900 °C annealing temperature.

We report the observation of ferromagnetic order in diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films made by mass selective ion beam deposition and after low energy implantation with Co ions. Different Co fluences were studied with a peak concentration of up to 25% at an average Co implantation depth of 30 nm. The saturation moment per Co atom (0.2-0.3 μ B) was found to be strongly dependent on temperature and it was significantly lower than that reported in bulk cobalt or cobalt nanoparticles (1.67 μ B per Co atom). The observed magnetic moment cannot be attributed to ferromagnetic nanoparticles as no evidence for superparamagnetism was detected. The magnetic order observed may be due to Co bonding in DLC possibly leading to dilute ferromagnetic semiconductor behaviour with an inhomogeneous distribution of cobalt atoms. Raman spectroscopy measurements showed that Co implantation resulted in an increase in the sp2 clustering with increasing Co fluence. Thus, our results show that Co implantation into DLC films increases the graphitic properties of the film and leads to magnetic order at room temperature.

The hemocompatibility of plasma-treated, silicon-incorporated, diamond-likecarbon (Si-DLC) films was investigated. Si-DLC films with a Si concentration of 2at.% were prepared on Si (100) or Nitinol substrates using a capacitively coupled radiofrequency plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition method using a mixed gas of benzene (C(6)H(6)) and diluted silane (SiH(4):H(2)=10:90). The Si-DLC films were then treated with O(2), CF(4) or N(2) glow discharge for surface modification. The plasma treatment revealed an intimate relationship between the polar component of the surface energy and its hemocompatibility. All in vitro characterizations, i.e. protein absorption behavior, activated partial thromboplastin time measurement and platelet adhesion behavior, showed improved hemocompatibility of the N(2-)- or O(2)-plasma-treated surfaces where the polar component of the surface energy was significantly increased. Si-O or Si-N surface bonds played an important role in improving hemocompatibility, as observed in a model experiment. These results support the importance of a negatively charged polar component of the surface in inhibiting fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion. PMID:18753025

Applying the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were prepared. Arc conditioning of these PLD thin films yields intense cold electron field emission (FE), with the turn-on field being as low as 1.4 V/μm. Tentative UV light irradiation resulted in an intense simultaneous FE and photoemission (FEPES) at a 10% level, indicating a rather efficient field enhancement. The modified surface areas were characterized using techniques with outstanding surface sensitivity such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or a high lateral resolution such as Micro-Raman and scanning tunneling field electron emission microscopy (FEEM) and spectroscopy (FEES). It was above all the application of the latter method which revealed a prevailing intrinsic character of this particular FE effect. The lateral distribution of the activated electron-emitting dot matrix is rather non-uniform which still impedes display applications. However, replacement of β-radioactive foils in gas-analytical devices can be hopefully envisaged.

To elucidate the relationship between the structure and the electrical characteristics of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films, DLC films were synthesized in a well-controlled glow discharge with the aid of photoelectrons in an argon/methane atmosphere. The dielectric constant and breakdown strength of the films exhibited opposite behaviors, depending on the total pressure during the synthesis. The product of these two values decreased monotonically as the pressure increased. The Raman spectra were analyzed with a Voigt-type formula. Based on the results, the authors propose the “sp{sup 2} cluster model” for the DLC structure. This model consists of conductive clusters of sp{sup 2} carbons surrounded by a dielectric matrix sea of sp{sup 2} carbon, sp{sup 3} carbon, and hydrogen, and indicates that the dielectric constant of the whole DLC film is determined by the balance between the dielectric constant of the matrix and the total size of the clusters, while the breakdown strength is determined by the reciprocal of the cluster size. The model suggests that a high-κ DLC film can be synthesized at a middle pressure and consists of well-grown sp{sup 2} clusters and a dense matrix. A low-κ DLC film can be synthesized both at low and high pressures. The sp{sup 2} cluster model explains that a low-κ DLC film synthesized at low pressure consists of a dense matrix and a low density of sp{sup 2} clusters, and exhibits a high breakdown strength. On the other hand, a low-κ film synthesized at high pressure consists of a coarse matrix and a high density of clusters and exhibits a low breakdown strength.

Staphylococcus aureus device-related infection is a common complication in implantology. Bacterial adhesion on implant surfaces is the initial step in the infective process. The aim was to develop a method suitable for quantitative bacterial adherence studies and to test a new diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating against commonly used metallic biomaterials with regards to Staphylococcus aureus adhesion. Patterned silicon chips with spots of tantalum, titanium, chromium, and DLC were produced using ultraviolet lithography and physical vapor deposition. These patterned chips were used as such or glued to array plates, pretreated with serum and exposed to S. aureus (S-15981) for 90 min, followed by acridine orange staining and fluorescence microscopy. An adhesion index showed that the ranking order of the biomaterials was titanium, tantalum, chromium, and DLC, with the DLC being clearly most resistant against colonization with S. aureus. Micropatterned surfaces are useful for quantitative comparison of bacterial adherence on different biomaterials. In the presence of serum, DLC is superior in its ability to resist adhesion and colonization by S. aureus compared with the commonly used biomaterial metals tantalum, titanium, and chromium. PMID:19437436

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) technique has been employed to produce uniform atmospheric plasmas of He and N2 gas mixtures in open air in order to functionalize the surface of filtered-arc deposited hydrogen-free diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films. XPS measurements were carried out on both untreated and He/N2 DBD plasma treated DLC surfaces. Chemical states of the C 1s and N 1s peaks were collected and used to characterize the surface bonds. Contact angle measurements were also used to record the short- and long-term variations in wettability of treated and untreated DLC. In addition, cell viability tests were performed to determine the influence of various He/N2 atmospheric plasma treatments on the attachment of osteoblast MC3T3 cells. Current evidence shows the feasibility of atmospheric plasmas in producing long-lasting variations in the surface bonding and surface energy of hydrogen-free DLC and consequently the potential for this technique in the functionalization of DLC coated devices.

This paper reports the influence of the adhesion interlayer between stainless steel and diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films in two different contact conditions: in dry air and deionized water. The water was the liquid used to understand the mechanism and chemical reactions of the tribolayer formation under boundary lubrication. The effect of silicon and carbonitride adhesion interlayer was investigated on uncoated and coated DLC films. The results show that DLC/DLC pairs using carbonitride in air (30% RH) showed 60% less friction coefficient and wear less than three orders of magnitude than DLC/DLC pairs using silicon as interlayer. In deionized water, DLC/DLC pairs using carbonitride as interlayer showed 31% less friction coefficient when compared to DLC/DLC pairs with silicon. Raman related the chemical and structural changes in the DLC films during sliding in air and in the presence of water. Scratch tests showed a critical load of 14 N and 33 N in DLC films with silicon and carbonitride, respectively.

The growing influence of the amorphous carbon not only as mechanical protective coating , but also of its possible use as electronic semiconducting material have made this material an important one. Incorporation of Nitrogen in a-C:H is believed to improve the semiconducting properties[1]. Moreover Carbon-Nitrogen films are a possible candidate for dielectric, insulating and passivating layers in a variety gallium nitride based device applications. Thin films amorphous carbon, non-hydrogenated, hydrogenated and nitrogenated were deposited on glassy carbon, silicon and quartz using magnetron sputtering of graphite target. Argon and Nitrogen were used as a sputtering gases. For Elemental concentration, films deposited on glassy carbon were used. 2.2 Mev of He++ beam is extracted from accelerator and in directed to the target films. Back and Forward scattered He++ particles were detected by solid-state detectors. The number and the energy of the particles striking the detector is stored electronically. The areal density in atoms per cm2, on the substrate surface was obtained from the shift in the substrate edge and area of carbon and other elements signals in Rutherford Backscattering Spectrum (RBS). Total Hydrogen content of the films were measured with Elastic Recoil Spectroscopy (ERS). Spectrum were simulated using Rutherford Universal Manipulation Program (RUMP).

Issues pertaining to the effective solution of problems related to the creation of durable low-voltage field emission cathodes with developed working surface and high density of emission current are considered. Results of practical implementation of the concept of multielectrode field emission planar nanostructures based on diamond-likecarbon are presented. High average current density (0.1-0.3 A cm-2) is ensured by the formation of a controlled zone of electrostatic field localization at the planar-edge structure. The working life of cathode samples reaches 700-3000 h due to several positive factors, such as the stabilizing properties of a diamond-likecarbon film, protection of the emitter from ion bombardment, use of a system of ballast resistors, and low-voltage operation of submicron interelectrode gaps.

Micron sized structures/components are commonly employed in a variety of devices (e.g., biosensors, array devices). At present such devices are based on macroscopic technologies. Future applications of differentiated structures/surfaces are expected to place considerable demands on down-sizing technologies, i.e. enable meso/nanoscopic manipulation. An emerging set of methods known collectively as soft lithography is now being utilised for a large variety of applications including micromolding, microfluidic networks and microcontact printing. In particular stamps and elastomeric elements can be formed by transfer of a pattern to a polymer by a master. The 'master' can be fabricated by a variety of techniques capable of producing well-defined surface topographies. Established lithographic techniques used in the microelectronic industry, such as photolithography, are generally used to fabricate such master templates at the micron scale. A number of polymers can be used to transfer patterns. One of the most widely used polymers for pattern transfer has been polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The elastomer is chemically resistant, has a low surface energy and readily conforms to different surface topographies. Obtaining a master is the limiting factor in the production of PDMS replicas. In this study we demonstrate the use of Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) as a master template for producing PDMS micro/nano stamps and 3 dimensional PDMS structures. Intricate surface relief patterns were formed on the DLC surface from lithographic techniques by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) operated in the electrical conductivity mode. Attributes of the technique include: -Features with line widths less than 20 nm can be formed on the DLC. -The radius of curvature at edges can be less than 10 nm. -The slope of the features is limited by the aspect ratio of the tip. -Highly complex shapes can be fashioned. -Feature depth can be controlled by DLC film thickness and/or by the bias voltage applied. -The

In recent years, diamond-likecarbon films (DLC) have been given more attention in research in the biomedical industry due to their potential application as surface coating on biomedical materials such as metals and polymer substrates. There are many ways to prepare metal containing DLC films deposited on polymeric film substrates, such as coatings from carbonaceous precursors and some means that incorporate other elements. In this study, we investigated both the surface and biocompatible properties of titanium containing DLC (Ti-DLC) films. The Ti-DLC films were prepared on the surface of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film as a function of the deposition power level using reactive sputtering technique. The films' hydrophilicity was studied by contact angle and surface energy tests. Their surface morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Their elemental chemical composition was analyzed using energy dispersive X-spectra (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Their blood and cell compatibility was studied by in vitro tests, including tests on platelet adhesion, thrombus formation, whole blood clotting time and osteoblast cell compatibility. Significant changes in the morphological and chemical composition of the Ti-DLC films were observed and found to be a function of the deposition level. These morphological and chemical changes reduced the interfacial tension between Ti-DLC and blood proteins as well as resisted the adhesion and activation of platelets on the surface of the Ti-DLC films. The cell compatibility results exhibited significant growth of osteoblast cells on the surface of Ti incorporated DLC film compared with that of DLC film surface.

The technique of surface ionisation for mapping lowenergy neutral atoms in space plasmas was successfully applied in several instruments onboard space missions in the past. We investigated diamond-likecarbon surfaces regarding their eligibility as a charge state conversion surface material for future space missions, where improved characteristics of the conversion surfaces are required. Measurements on CVD (chemical vapour deposition) diamond surfaces, which are from stock available, show that the material has high potential to be used in neutral atom imaging detectors on future space missions.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted considerable attention as possible routes to device miniaturization due to their excellent mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties. These properties show great potential for devices such as field emission displays, transistors, and sensors. The growth of CNTs can be explained by interaction between small carbon patches and the metal catalyst. The metals such as nickel, cobalt, gold, iron, platinum, and palladium are used as the catalysts for the CNT growth. In this study, diamond-likecarbon (DLC) was used for CNT growth as a nonmetallic catalyst layer. DLC films were deposited by a radio frequency (RF) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) method with a mixture of methane and hydrogen gases. CNTs were synthesized by a hot filament plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD) method with ammonia (NH3) as a pretreatment gas and acetylene (C2H2) as a carbon source gas. The grown CNTs and the pretreated DLC films were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) measurement, and the structure of the grown CNTs was analyzed by high resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Also, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) measurement, we confirmed that only the carbon component remained on the substrate. PMID:19318258

Homogeneous diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were deposited on Si supports by a pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition system. Using DLC films masked by Ni nanoparticles as precursors, highly aligned diamond-likecarbon nanorod (DLCNR) arrays were fabricated by the etching of inductively coupled radio frequency oxygen plasma. The as-prepared DLCNR arrays exhibit excellent field emission properties with a low turn-on field of 2.005 V μm‑1 and a threshold field of 4.312 V μm‑1, respectively. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to determine the chemical bonding structural change of DLC films before and after etching. It is confirmed that DLC films have good connection with Si supports via the formation of the SiC phase, and larger conductive sp2 domains are formed in the as-etched DLC films, which play essential roles in the enhanced field emission properties for DLCNR arrays.

Ultrathin (< 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in{sup 2}. These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the ''macroparticle'' issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system - a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using S-filter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested.

This work presents an application of reactive ion etching (RIE) followed by diamond-likecarbon (DLC) nano-overlay deposition using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF PECVD) method for effective tuning of the refractive-index (RI) sensitivity of long-period gratings (LPGs). Both etching and deposition take place within one process. Combination of both plasma-based processes allows for well controlled tuning of the LPG sensorial response up to its operation at both dispersion turning point (DTP) of higher order cladding modes and mode transition regime. As a result of processing, RI sensitivity can be enhanced up to over 12,000 nm/RIU per single resonance in narrow RI range (1.3344-1.3355) and over 2000 nm/RIU in broader RI range (1.34-1.356).

Aluminum doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC:Al) thin films were deposited on n-Si(100) substrates by co-sputtering a graphite target under a fixed DC power (650 W) and an aluminum target under varying DC power (10-90 W) at room temperature. The structure, adhesion strength and surface morphology of the DLC:Al films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-scratch testing and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The corrosion performance of the DLC:Al films was investigated by means of potentiodynamic polarization testing in a 0.6 M NaCl aqueous solution. The results showed that the polarization resistance of the DLC:Al films increased from about 18 to 30.7 k(omega) though the corrosion potentials of the films shifted to more negative values with increased Al content in the films. PMID:21128496

The effect of hyperthermal atomic oxygen (AO) exposure on the surface properties of Si-doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC) was investigated. Two types of DLC were tested that contain approximately 10 at% and 20 at% of Si atoms. Surface analytical results of high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation (synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy; SR-PES) as well as Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) have been used for characterization of the AO-exposed Si-doped DLC. It was identified by SR-PES that a SiO{sub 2} layer was formed by the hyperthermal AO exposure at the Si-doped DLC surface. RBS data indicates that AO exposure leads to severe thickness loss on the undopedd DLC. In contrast, a SiO{sub 2} layer formed by the hyperthermal atomic oxygen reaction of Si-doped DLC protects the DLC underneath the SiO{sub 2} layer.

Nano-crystalline DiamondlikeCarbon (DLC) film has been grown by Dense Plasma Focusing Method (DPF) using pure graphite Plasma, on different substrate (glass/silica) at different substrate temperature. The films were grown at substrate temperature 100 deg. C, 150 deg. C and 300 deg. C by the high dense plasma of energy 1.3 k Joule on glass and silica. Raman spectra confirmed that sp{sup 3} content is grown in the films under various conditions. The Raman spectra of these films show a broad asymmetric peak which narrow with sp{sup 2} decreasing contents. We believe that our data presented here may be used as reference of DLC characterization.

In this work, reflection and transmission of electromagnetic wave through a multilayered structure containing diamond-likecarbon, porous silicon, and left-handed material (LHM) are investigated theoretically and numerically. The mentioned materials are described, and their main parameters are given in detail. After the construction of the problem, the reflection and transmission coefficients are derived in a closed form by a transfer matrix method. The reflected and transmitted powers of the structure are calculated using these coefficients. In the numerical results, the mentioned powers are computed and illustrated as a function of frequency, angle of incidence, and slabs thickness, when the damping coefficient of the LHM changes. The results obtained may be useful to the researchers and designer working in the area solar cells.

Electrochemical method has been employed in this work to modify nitrogen-doped hydrogen amorphous diamond-likecarbon (N-DLC) film to fabricate nickel nano-particle-modified N-DLC electrodes. The electrochemical behavior of the nickel nano-particle-modified N-DLC electrodes has been characterized at the presence of glucose in electrolyte. Meanwhile, the N-DLC film structure and the morphology of metal nano-particles on the N-DLC surface have been investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The nickel nano-particle-modified N-DLC electrode exhibits a high catalytic activity and low background current. This result shows that the nickel nano-particle deposition on N-DLC surface could be a promising method to fabricate novel electrode materials for glucose sensing.

Capacitively-coupled methane (CH4) plasmas for deposition of diamond-likecarbon films have been simulated using a self-consistent one-dimensional fluid model, incorporating the mass balance equations for electrons, ions, radicals and non-radicals, the electron energy balance equation, coupled with the Poisson equation. Despite of low-pressure CH4 gas condition, many positive-ion species, such as C2H4^+, CH4^+, C2H2^+, CH5^+ etc., have been found in the plasmas. The non-radical neutrals, such as C2H4, C3H8, C2H2 and C2H6, have also found with higher densities comparable to the source gas density. This result indicates that this complexity of background gas in CH4 plasmas is strongly affected to the electron energy distribution function, which is important for the determination of plasmas properties.

Volatile products were measured from two types of diamond-likecarbon films under the hyperthermal atomic oxygen (AO) beam bombardment. It was clearly observed that CO and CO2 were formed at the conventional hydrogenated DLC surface when exposed to hyperthermal AO beam. Desorption rates of CO and CO2 are constant with AO fluence which reflects the constant erosion rate of the hydrogenated DLC. In contrast, Si-doped DLC shows decrease in amount of CO and CO2 with increasing AO fluence. Oxidation of Si atoms at the DLC surface was detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, confirming the formation of SiO2 film formed at the DLC surface that could prevent AO reaction with C atoms in DLC which leads to loss of DLC. Since a self-healing capability can be expected on Si-doped DLC, metal doping is a promising technology for space application of DLC.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were synthesized by the dielectric barrier discharge-based plasma deposition at atmospheric pressure and their hardness and gas barrier properties were measured. A decrease in size of grains and heating substrate temperature improved nano-hardness up to 3.3 GPa. The gas barrier properties of DLC-coated poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) sheets were obtained by 3-5 times of non-coated PET with approximately 0.5 µm in film thickness. The high-gas-barrier DLC films deposited on PET sheets are expected to wrap elevated bridge of the super express and prevent them from neutralization of concrete. We also deposited DLC films inside PET bottles by the microwave surface-wave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method at near-atmospheric pressure. Under atmospheric pressure, the films were coated uniformly inside the PET bottles, but did not show high gas barrier properties. In this paper, we summarize recent progress of DLC films synthesized at atmospheric pressure with the aimed of food packaging and concrete pillar.

A nanostructured diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coated digital versatile disk (DVD) target is presented as a matrix-free sample support for application in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). A large number of vacancies, defects, relative sp(2) carbon content, and nanogrooves of DLC films support the LDI phenomenon. The observed absorptivity of DLC is in the range of 305-330 nm (nitrogen laser, 337 nm). The universal applicability is demonstrated through different analytes like amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, peptides, and other metabolites. Carbohydrates and amino acids are analyzed as sodium and potassium adducts. Peptides are detectable in their protonated forms, which avoid the extra need of additives for ionization. A bovine serum albumin (BSA) digest is analyzed to demonstrate the performance for peptide mixtures, coupled with the material-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (MELDI) approach. The detection limit of the described matrix-free target is investigated to be 10 fmol/microL for [Glu(1)]-fibrinopeptide B (m/z 1570.6) and 1 fmol/microL for L-sorbose (Na(+) adduct). The device does not require any chemical functionalization in contrast to other matrix-free systems. The inertness of DLC provides longer lifetimes without any deterioration in the detection sensitivity. Broad applicability allows high performance analysis in metabolomics and peptidomics. Furthermore the DLC coated DVD (1.4 GB) sample support is used as a storage device for measured and processed data together with sampling on a single device. PMID:18729472

Further insight into processing-structure-property relationships have been carried out for existing and candidate carbon-based protective overcoats used in the magnetic recording industry. Specifically, 5 nm thick amorphous diamond-likecarbon (a:C) and nitrogenated diamond-likecarbon (a:CNx) overcoats were deposited by low deposition rate sputtering onto a thin film disk consisting of either CoCrPt/CrV/NiP/AlMg or CoCrPt/CrV/glass. The wear durability and frictional behavior of these hard disks were ascertained using a recently developed depth sensing reciprocating nanoscratch test. It was determined that the CN0.14/CoCrPt/CrV/glass disk exhibited the most wear resistance, least amount of plastic deformation, and lowest kinetic friction coefficient after the last wear event. Core level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results of sputter cleaned overcoats indicated that nitrogen up to 14 at. % incorporated into the amorphous network resulted in these improvements near the overcoat/magnetic layer interface, since there was an increase in the number of N-sp3 C bonded sites in a predominantly N-sp2 C bonded matrix. However, nonsputter cleaned overcoats exhibited a more graphitic pyridine-like (nondoping configuration) structure near the surface as evidenced by the increase in C=N versus C-N bonds and the valence band XPS determined appearance of the 2p-π band near the Fermi level (EF). Therefore, XPS sputter cleaning revealed a gradient in the chemical nature of the overcoats through the thickness. In addition, micro-Raman spectroscopy established that a further increase of nitrogen (⩾18 at. %) weakened the overcoat structure due to the formation of terminated sites in the amorphous carbon network, since nitrogen failed to connect the sp2 domains within the network. This, in conjunction with an increase in the intensity of the 2p-π band from the valence band XPS spectra and the increase in the G-band position and ID/IG ratio from the Raman spectra

Carbon films were deposited on silicon, quartz, and potassium bromide substrates from an ion beam. Growth rates were approximately 0.3 micron/hour. The films were featureless and amorphous and contained only carbon and hydrogen in significant amounts. The density and carbon/hydrogen ratio indicate the film is a hydrogen deficient polymer. One possible structure, consistent with the data, is a random network of methylene linkages and tetrahedrally coordinated carbon atoms.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films are the hydrogenated amorphous carbon films, which contains a mixture of sp2- and sp3-bonded carbon. The DLC films have been widely used for various applications, such as automotive, semiconductors, medical devices, since have excellent material properties in lower friction, higher chemical stability, higher hardness, higher wear resistance. Until now, numerous investigations on the DLC films using plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition have been done. For precise control of coating technique of DLC films, it is enormously important to clarify the fundamental properties in hydrocarbon plasmas, as a source of hydrocarbon ions and radicals. In this paper, the fundamental properties in a low pressure radio-frequency hydrocarbon (Ar/CH4 (1 %) gas mixture) plasmas have been diagnosed using a quadrupole mass spectrometer (HIDEN ANARYTICAL Ltd., EQP-300) and Langmuir probe system (HIDEN ANARYTICAL Ltd., ESPion). This work was partly supported by KAKENHI (No.26420247), and a ``Grant for Advanced Industrial Technology Development (No.11B06004d)'' in 2011 from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan.

The hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H) or DLC (Diamond-LikeCarbon) films are well known for exhibiting high electrical resistivity, low dielectric constant, high mechanical hardness, low friction coefficient, low superficial roughness and also for being inert. In this paper, we produced fluorinated DLC films (a-C:F), and studied the effect of adding CF4 on the above-mentioned properties of DLC films. These films were produced by a reactive RF magnetron sputtering system using a target of pure carbon in stable graphite allotrope. We performed measurements of electrical characteristic curves of capacitance as a function of applied tension (C-V) and current as a function of the applied tension (I-V). We showed the dielectric constant (k) and the resistivity (ρ) as functions of the CF4 concentration. On films with 65% CF4, we found that k = 2.7, and on films with 70% CF4, ρ = 12.3 × 1011 Ω cm. The value of the electrical breakdown field to films with 70% CF4 is 5.3 × 106 V/cm.

In this study, silicon doped diamond-likecarbon (Si-DLC) was deposited on stainless steel (JIS SUS304) by using surface wave-excited plasma (SWP). The effects of tetramethylsilane (TMS) flow on the composition, topography, mechanical properties and tribological behavior were investigated. Pin-on-disc tribo-meter was used to investigate the tribological behavior of the Si-DLC coating rubbed against poly(oxymethylene) (POM). The results show that the deposition rate, roughness of Si-DLC increased and the hardness of Si-DLC decreased with the increase of TMS flow rate from 2 to 4 sccm; the roughness increase therein led to the increase of ploughing term of friction. The increase of adhesion term was also seen with the increase of TMS flow rate, being attributed to the decrease of hydrogen concentration in the coating. It was considered that more POM transferred onto the Si-DLC deposited at higher TMS flow rate due to larger heat generation by friction.

Due to its tunable properties like hardness, optical gap, chemical inertness, electrical resistivity, biocompatibility etc., coatings of the material DiamondlikeCarbon (DLC) have been used as protective layers for various applications. In this research effort, we add to the growing list of its potential applications by proposing them as a template material for the emerging field of nanoimprint lithography. Using capacitive and inductive plasmas, we demonstrate the possibility of depositing DLC films of reasonable hardness (10-25 GPa) and wear resistance (2X that of Si and 3X that of Quartz). We have successfully used these films as a mold material to obtain feature sizes as small as 40 nm. In addition, to further the understanding of the effect of the gas phase chemistry on the film properties, the Methane discharge used for obtaining these films has been studied using techniques like Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Optical Emission Spectroscopy. The higher degree of dissociation (up to 70%) of the precursor in case of inductive plasmas leads to selected conditions under which hard DLC films are obtained. We also show that for the same deposition conditions, films deposited on the insulating Quartz substrates are softer and more polymeric than those deposited on Si substrates. Carbon nanotubes with their unique physical properties are seen as ideal candidates for applications like field effect transistors, supercapacitors, AFM tips and electronic devices. One of the chief challenges in using them for these applications is obtaining them in a form that is easier to handle, thus enabling them to withstand the various post-processing steps. The second part of this dissertation focuses on the possibility of obtaining a Carbon-Carbon composite structure by subjecting vertically aligned Carbon nanotube forests to a PECVD based process. The distance from the top of the CNT forest that is coated with the deposited film (termed as the depth of infusion) shows

NiFe, Ta films were fabricated by ion beam deposition (IBD) and diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films by ion beam chemical vapor deposition (IB-CVD) and filtered cathodic arc (FCA) process. Magnetic dead layers at interfaces of Ta/NiFe/Tn and NiFe/Si/DLC trilayer films were determined by characterizing magnetic flux loss using a B-H loop tracer. Dependence of magnetic dead layer on ion beam voltage and thicknesses of Ta, DLC, and Si layers was investigated. It is found that the thickness of magnetic dead layer increases monotonously with increasing ion beam voltage for Ta and DLC film depositions. The magnetic dead layer of 4-6 Å thick forms at Ta/NiFe and NiFe/Ta interfaces at an ion beam voltage of 1000 V, which can be attributed to the atomic intermixing of incoming energetic adatoms with atoms of grown films at interfaces. Direct ion beam deposition of the DLC film in NiFe/Si/DLC layered structure gives rise to a magnetic thickness loss of 12-18 Å. Transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional observations have confirmed the formation of an amorphous-like interfacial layer, as a result of carbonization or silicidation of NiFe at interfaces of the trilayer film.

There currently exists a broad range of applications for which the ability to produce an adherent, hard, wear and, corrosion-resistant coating plays a vital role. These applications include engine components, orthopedic devices, textile manufacturing components, hard disk media, optical coatings, and cutting and machining tools (e.g., punches, taps, scoring dies, and extrusion dies). Ion beam processing can play an important role in all of these technologies. Plasma source ion implantation (PSII) is an emerging technology which has the potential to overcome the limitations of conventional ion implantation by: (1) reducing the time and expense for implanting onto complex shapes and large areas and (2) extending the thickness of the modification zone through ion beam enhanced plasma growth of surface coatings. In PSII, targets are placed directly in a plasma source and then pulse biased to produce a non-line-of-sight process for complex-shaped targets without complex fixturing. If the pulse bias is a relatively high negative potential (20 to 100 kV) ion implantation will result. If however, a low voltage (50--1,200 eV) high duty cycle pulse bias is applied, film deposition from the chamber gas will result, thereby increasing the extent of the surface modification into the 1--10 micron regime. To evaluate the potential for DLC to be used as a corrosion barrier, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and traditional electrochemistry techniques were used to investigate the breakdown mechanism in chloride and nonchloride containing environments. The effect of surface preparation on coating breakdown was also evaluated.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are nowadays intensively studied composites due to their excellent gas barrier properties and biocompatibility. Despite their applicative features being highly explored, the interface properties and structural film evolution of DLC coatings on PET during deposition processes are still sparsely investigated. In this study two different types of DLC films were gradually deposited on PET by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) using acetylene plasma. The surface morphology of the deposited samples has been analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Their chemical composition was investigated by diffusive reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) and Raman spectroscopy analysis and the surface wettability by contact angle measurements. Subplantation processes and interface effects are revealed through the morphological and chemical analysis of both types. During plasma deposition processes the increasing carbon load causes the rise of intrinsic film stress. It is proven that stress release phenomena cause the transition between polymer-like to a more cross-linked DLC network by folding dehydrogenated chains into closed 6-fold rings. These findings significantly lead to an enhanced understanding in DLC film growth mechanism by RF-PECVD processes. PMID:27058762

Chemical, petrochemical, energy, and environment-related industries strongly require high-performance nanofiltration membranes applicable to organic solvents. To achieve high solvent permeability, filtration membranes must be as thin as possible, while retaining mechanical strength and solvent resistance. Here, we report on the preparation of ultrathin free-standing amorphous carbon membranes with Young’s moduli of 90 to 170 gigapascals. The membranes can separate organic dyes at a rate three orders of magnitude greater than that of commercially available membranes. Permeation experiments revealed that the hard carbon layer has hydrophobic pores of ~1 nanometer, which allow the ultrafast viscous permeation of organic solvents through the membrane.

We investigated metalorganic precursor deposition using a Microwave Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma for depositing metal-doped diamondlike carbon films. Specifically, the deposition of ruthenium doped diamondlike carbon films was investigated using the decomposition of a novel ruthenium precursor, Bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)-ruthenium (Ru(C5H4C2H5)2). The ruthenium precursor was introduced close to the substrate stage. The substrate was independently biased using an applied RF power. Films were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Four Point Probe. The conductivity of the films deposited using ruthenium precursor showed strong dependency on the deposition parameters such as pressure. Ruthenium doped sample showed the presence of diamond crystallites with an average size of approx. 3 nm while un-doped diamondlike carbon sample showed the presence of diamond crystallites with an average size of 11 nm. TEM results showed that ruthenium was atomically dispersed within the amorphous carbon network in the films.

A friction force microscope (FFM) with different probes and a ball-on-disk (BOD) tribo-meter were used to investigate the tribological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films. DLC films were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method by altering the deposition parameters, and their morphologies and structural information were examined with an atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Raman spectrum. The wear traces of the DLC films after frictional tests were analyzed by an optical microscope. It is found that surface roughness and adhesion play important roles in characterizing the tribological properties of DLC films using FFM. Moreover, the debris accumulation is another significant factor affecting the frictional behavior of DLC films, especially for the sharp tip. The difference in coefficients of friction (COFs) obtained by the BOD method among different DLC films under water lubrication is much smaller than the case without water lubrication. The variation trends in COF for the flat tip and the BOD test are similar in comparison with the result obtained with the sharp tip. The wear traces after frictional tests suggest that DLC films under water lubrication are prone to be damaged more readily.

We report, for the first time, quadrupole mass spectrometry of neutral and positive ionic hydrocarbon species measured at the rf-biased substrate electrode of an inductively coupled plasma for acetylene rich C2H2 : Ar mixtures under various bias, frequency and pressure conditions. It has been observed that, irrespective of initial gas mixture, the resultant plasma is dominated by argon neutrals and ions. This is attributed to highly efficient conversion of acetylene to C2H due to the enhanced electron density compared with a standard capacitive plasma where the acetylene (neutral and ion) species remain dominant. This conversion may be crucial to film formation via inert rather than hydrocarbon ion bombardment. In addition, the transient formation of CH4 from acetylene has been discovered using IR absorption spectroscopy with time constants similar to observed pressure variations. Rate coefficients and rates for many of the reaction mechanisms, calculated using measured electron energy distribution functions and species densities, are given. These results have important application in plasma models and growth studies for hydrogenated amorphous or diamond-likecarbon film deposition. Film growth under similar plasma conditions is reported in an associated paper along with ion energy distributions for important growth species. .

In this study we have deposited silver-containing hydrogenated and hydrogen-free diamond-likecarbon (DLC) nanocomposite thin films by plasma immersion ion implantation-deposition methods. The surface and nano-tribological characteristics were studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nano-scratching experiments. The silver doping was found to have no measurable effect on sp2-sp3 hybridization of the hydrogenated DLC matrix and only a slight effect on the hydrogen-free DLC matrix. The surface topography was analyzed by surface imaging. High- and low-order roughness determined by AFM characterization was correlated to the DLC growth mechanism and revealed the smoothing effect of silver. The nano-tribological characteristics were explained in terms of friction mechanisms and mechanical properties in correlation to the surface characteristics. It was discovered that the adhesion friction was the dominant friction mechanism; the adhesion force between the scratching tip and DLC surface was decreased by hydrogenation and increased by silver doping.

The implant-bone interface is the scene of competition between microorganisms and distinct types of tissue cells. In the past, various strategies have been followed to support bony integration and to prevent bacterial implant-associated infections. In the present study we investigated the biological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) surfaces containing silver nanoparticles. DLC is a promising material for the modification of medical implants providing high mechanical and chemical stability and a high degree of biocompatibility. DLC surface modifications with varying silver concentrations were generated on medical-grade titanium discs, using plasma immersion ion implantation-induced densification of silver nanoparticle-containing polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer solutions. Immersion of implants in aqueous liquids resulted in a rapid silver release reducing the growth of surface-bound and planktonic Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Due to the fast and transient release of silver ions from the modified implants, the surfaces became biocompatible, ensuring growth of mammalian cells. Human endothelial cells retained their cellular differentiation as indicated by the intracellular formation of Weibel-Palade bodies and a high responsiveness towards histamine. Our findings indicate that the integration of silver nanoparticles into DLC prevents bacterial colonization due to a fast initial release of silver ions, facilitating the growth of silver susceptible mammalian cells subsequently.

Fluorine (F) and boron (B) co-doped diamond-likecarbon (FB-DLC) films were prepared on different substrates by the plasma immersion ion processing (PIIP) technique. A pulse glow discharge plasma was used for the PIIP deposition and was produced at a pressure of 1.33 Pa from acetylene (C2H2), diborane (B2H6), and hexafluoroethane (C2F6) gas. Films of FB-DLC were deposited with different chemical compositions by varying the flow ratios of the C2H2, B2H6, and C2F6 source gases. The incorporation of B2H6 and C2F6 into PIIP deposited DLC resulted in the formation of F-C and B-C hybridized bonding structures. The levels of the F and B concentrations effected the chemical bonding and the physical properties as was evident from the changes observed in density, hardness, stress, friction coefficient, and contact angle of water on films. Compared to B-doped or F-doped DLC films, the F and B co-doping of DLC during PIIP deposition resulted in the formation of films that possessed a reduced hydrogen concentration and stress, while maintaining a high hardness, low friction coefficient, and high wetting contact angle.

To improve a coupling efficiency for the fast ignition scheme of the inertial confinement fusion, fast electron behaviors as a function of an electrical conductivity are required. To evaluate the electrical conductivity for low-Z materials as a diamond-like-carbon (DLC), we have proposed a concept to investigate the properties of warm dense matter (WDM) by using pulsed-power discharges. The concept of the evaluation of DLC for WDM is a shock compression driven by an exploding wire discharge with confined by a rigid capillary. The qualitatively evaluation of the electrical conductivity for the WDM DLC requires a small electrical conductivity of the exploding wire. To analyze the electrical conductivity of exploding wire, we have demonstrated an exploding wire discharge in water for gold. The results indicated that the electrical conductivity of WDM gold for 5000 K of temperature has an insulator regime. It means that the shock compression driven by the exploding wire discharge with confined by the rigid capillary is applied for the evaluation of electrical conductivity for WDM DLC.

The oxidized layers at the surface of hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (H-DLC) were studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, and Raman spectroscopy. The structure of these layers was correlated with the friction and wear behavior observed on H-DLC. H-DLC is well-known for its ultralow friction in inert environments, but the steady superlubricious state is always preceded by a run-in period with a high friction. It was hypothesized that the run-in period is related to the surface oxide layer formed naturally upon exposure of the sample to air. To test this hypothesis, thermal oxide layers were grown, and their structures were analyzed and compared with the native oxide layer on a pristine sample. It was found that the Raman spectra of the surface oxide layers of H-DLC have higher D/G band ratio than the bulk, indicating a larger amount of aromatic clusters compared to the bulk film. Thick oxide layers grown at 300 °C showed a run-in friction behavior that resembled the friction of graphite. The run-in periods were found to become longer when the thickness of the oxide layers increased, indicating that the run-in behavior of H-DLC is attributed to the removal of the surface oxide layers.

The implant-bone interface is the scene of competition between microorganisms and distinct types of tissue cells. In the past, various strategies have been followed to support bony integration and to prevent bacterial implant-associated infections. In the present study we investigated the biological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) surfaces containing silver nanoparticles. DLC is a promising material for the modification of medical implants providing high mechanical and chemical stability and a high degree of biocompatibility. DLC surface modifications with varying silver concentrations were generated on medical-grade titanium discs, using plasma immersion ion implantation-induced densification of silver nanoparticle-containing polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer solutions. Immersion of implants in aqueous liquids resulted in a rapid silver release reducing the growth of surface-bound and planktonic Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Due to the fast and transient release of silver ions from the modified implants, the surfaces became biocompatible, ensuring growth of mammalian cells. Human endothelial cells retained their cellular differentiation as indicated by the intracellular formation of Weibel-Palade bodies and a high responsiveness towards histamine. Our findings indicate that the integration of silver nanoparticles into DLC prevents bacterial colonization due to a fast initial release of silver ions, facilitating the growth of silver susceptible mammalian cells subsequently. PMID:26955791

The oxidized layers at the surface of hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (H-DLC) were studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, and Raman spectroscopy. The structure of these layers was correlated with the friction and wear behavior observed on H-DLC. H-DLC is well-known for its ultralow friction in inert environments, but the steady superlubricious state is always preceded by a run-in period with a high friction. It was hypothesized that the run-in period is related to the surface oxide layer formed naturally upon exposure of the sample to air. To test this hypothesis, thermal oxide layers were grown, and their structures were analyzed and compared with the native oxide layer on a pristine sample. It was found that the Raman spectra of the surface oxide layers of H-DLC have higher D/G band ratio than the bulk, indicating a larger amount of aromatic clusters compared to the bulk film. Thick oxide layers grown at 300 °C showed a run-in friction behavior that resembled the friction of graphite. The run-in periods were found to become longer when the thickness of the oxide layers increased, indicating that the run-in behavior of H-DLC is attributed to the removal of the surface oxide layers. PMID:25583366

The protective layer for cover glass of touch panel screen for electronic mobile devices is required to have good mechanical properties and decent optical transparency simultaneously. The hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (a-C:H) films were deposited on glass substrate by RF-PECVD in the negative stage potential mode (NP mode), as well as the ground stage potential mode (GP mode). The impact of hydrogen content, affected by stage potential and RF power, on optical and mechanical properties was investigated. The results show that hydrogen content decreases with increasing RF power, due to the dehydrogenation effect. Higher hydrogen content in films results in lower refractive index, lower extinction coefficient, lower optical absorptions, larger optical band gap and higher transmittance, but lower hardness and wearing resistance. Therefore, although the GP mode DLC is optically favorable because of higher hydrogen content, the NP mode one is far more superior from mechanical standpoint. A compromise can be reached to deposit an ultrathin layer of DLC in NP mode, which offers a good combination of properties to meet the requirement for the protective layer of cover glass.

The implant-bone interface is the scene of competition between microorganisms and distinct types of tissue cells. In the past, various strategies have been followed to support bony integration and to prevent bacterial implant-associated infections. In the present study we investigated the biological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) surfaces containing silver nanoparticles. DLC is a promising material for the modification of medical implants providing high mechanical and chemical stability and a high degree of biocompatibility. DLC surface modifications with varying silver concentrations were generated on medical-grade titanium discs, using plasma immersion ion implantation-induced densification of silver nanoparticle-containing polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer solutions. Immersion of implants in aqueous liquids resulted in a rapid silver release reducing the growth of surface-bound and planktonic Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Due to the fast and transient release of silver ions from the modified implants, the surfaces became biocompatible, ensuring growth of mammalian cells. Human endothelial cells retained their cellular differentiation as indicated by the intracellular formation of Weibel-Palade bodies and a high responsiveness towards histamine. Our findings indicate that the integration of silver nanoparticles into DLC prevents bacterial colonization due to a fast initial release of silver ions, facilitating the growth of silver susceptible mammalian cells subsequently. PMID:26955791

Electrochemical measurement of transmitter or hormone release from individual cells on microchips has applications both in basic science and drug screening. High-resolution measurement of quantal exocytosis requires the working electrode to be small (cell-sized) and located in immediate proximity to the cell. We examined the ability of candidate electrode materials to promote the attachment of two hormone-secreting cell types as a mechanism for targeting cells for to recording electrodes with high precision. We found that nitrogen-doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC:N) promoted cell attachment relative to other materials tested in the rank order of DLC:N > In2O3/SnO2 (ITO), Pt > Au. In addition, we found that treating candidate electrode materials with polylysine did not increase attachment of chromaffin cells to DLC:N, but promoted cell attachment to the other tested materials. We found that hormone-secreting cells did not attach readily to Teflon AF as a potential insulating material, and demonstrated that patterning of Teflon AF leads to selective cell targeting to DLC:N “docking sites”. These results will guide the design of the next generation of biochips for automated and high-throughput measurement of quantal exocytosis. PMID:19124153

Hard, semitransparent carbon films were prepared on oriented polished crystal wafers of silicon, indium phosphide and gallium arsenide, as well as on KBr and quartz. Properties of the films were determined using IR and visible absorption spectrocopy, ellipsometry, conductance-capacitance spectroscopy and alpha particle-proton recoil spectroscopy. Preparation techniques include RF plasma decomposition of methane (and other hydrocarbons), ion beam sputtering, and dual-ion-beam sputter deposition. Optical energy band gaps as large as 2.7 eV and extinction coefficients lower than 0.1 at long wavelengths are found. Electronic state densities at the interface with silicon as low as 10 to the 10th states/eV sq cm per were found.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films doped with a small fraction of erbium (0.5-2.0 at. %, at 0.5 at. % interval) were prepared by using a 248 nm KrF pulsed laser deposition technique. The effects of erbium on the surface morphology, microstructure, chemical binding states, tribological property, and the adhesion strength of DLC films were investigated. Atomic force microscopy showed that the surface roughness of the films increased with the increasing of erbium fraction, but generally the nanocomposite films were smooth with rms below 1 nm. Raman analysis showed broad peaks centered at 1550 cm-1 on all the samples. The deconvoluted Raman spectra on DLC doped with different fractions of erbium showed that the ID/IG ratio increased with increasing erbium content, and the comparative percent of sp3 is between 50% and 58% for erbium fraction between 0.5 and 2.0 at. %. High resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that the C 1s peaks had slightly shifted away from 285.2 (diamond) to 284.5 eV (graphite). The deconvolution of the spectra further confirmed the influence of erbium to the sp3 contents and revealed the presence of SiC with the increasing of Er fraction. Microscratch tester results showed that the adhesion strength (critical load) of the films improved with the presence of SiC bonding at the interface. This hinted that the presence of the heavier erbium may force the impinging carbon ions to react more with the interface to form silicon carbide bonds, thus enhancing the adhesion strength. Although the presence of erbium increased the surface roughness of the films, the coefficients of friction of the erbium doped DLC films were still closely resembled to pure DLC, i.e., 0.11-0.12 compared to 0.10 for pure DLC.

Femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been performed using a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser including an amplification stage (150 fs, 800 nm, 1 kHz) to deposit tetrahedral-amorphous carbon films (ta-C) on AISI 316L stainless steel and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, in perspective to extend the wear resistance of materials used in hip joints. Ta-C films have been elaborated in high vacuum conditions at room temperature. The diamond-likecoated silicon substrates exhibit high wear resistance (in the 10 -8-10 -9 mm 3 (N m) -1 range) with moderate hardness (in the 20-30 GPa range), which may be favorable for the accommodation motion between contacting surfaces in a hip joint. In situ sputter cleaning of the orthopaedic substrates in argon plasma prior to carbon deposition has been investigated, leading to the enhancement of the adhesion of the films onto the stainless steel substrates. The adhesion properties of films deposited in various conditions on metallic substrates have been studied by tensile tests. The tribological behavior of the coatings deposited on cleaned substrates have been widely investigated in a pin-on-flat configuration in ambient air and Ringer solution. Finally, a DLC thin film with an homogeneous thickness has been deposited on hemispherical surface of 22.2 mm in diameter of a stainless steel femoral head of a hip prosthesis, whose wear behavior will be quantified using a hip joint simulator during one million of cycles (corresponding to the human activity during one year).

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is an attractive biomedical material due to its high inertness and excellent mechanical properties. In this study, DLC films were fabricated on Ti6Al4V and Si(1 0 0) substrates at room temperature by pulsed vacuum arc plasma deposition. By changing the argon flow from 0 to 13 sccm during deposition, the effects of argon flow on the characteristics of the DLC films were systematically examined to correlate to the blood compatibility. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the films were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface analysis, a nano-indenter and pin-on-disk tribometer. The blood compatibility of the films was evaluated using in vitro platelet adhesion investigation, and the quantity and morphology of the adherent platelets was investigated employing optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The Raman spectroscopy results showed a decreasing sp 3 fraction (an increasing trend in ID/ IG ratio) with increasing argon flow from 0 to 13 sccm. The sp 3:sp 2 ratio of the films was evaluated from the deconvoluted XPS spectra. We found that the sp 3 fraction decreased as the argon flow was increased from 0 to 13 sccm, which is consistent with the results of the Raman spectra. The mechanical properties results confirmed the decreasing sp 3 content with increasing argon flow. The Raman D-band to G-band intensity ratio increased and the platelet adhesion behavior became better with higher flow. This implies that the blood compatibility of the DLC films is influenced by the sp 3:sp 2 ratio. DLC films deposited on titanium alloys have high wear resistance, low friction and good adhesion.

We studied the deposition of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) thin films using barrier-type surface discharge plasma under atmospheric pressure. The main radicals generated by the barrier-type surface discharge using H2, CH4, and He as the plasma gases were Hα, Hβ, and CH. The emission intensities increased as the ratio of CH4 in the mixed gas decreased, and the mixed gas ratios of 2% CH4, 18% H2, 80% He were appropriate for the generation of the barrier-type surface discharge. The gas flow rate and applied voltage required to achieve a suitable plasma state for deposition of the DLC films varied depending on the polarity of the applied pulse. When a negative pulse is used, homogenous films can be obtained on the silicon wafer under the entire hole of the electrode; however, the deposition rate becomes very low in the range of 1.8-5.8 nm/min because the surface streamer plasma is very weak. On the other hand, using a bipolar and a positive pulse, a relatively high deposition rate in the range of 10-30 nm/min can be achieved on the silicon wafer under the central part of the electrode, although the thickness of the DLC films becomes nonuniform at the edge part of the electrode. The appropriate conditions of the DLC film deposition in this study were the pulse voltages of 6-8 kV and a gas flow rate of 1500 mL/min when using bipolar- and positive-pulse voltages. The relatively hard DLC films (6-8 GPa) were obtained under these conditions.

It is established that the deposition of a diamond-like film onto a structure with silicon nanoclusters in a silicon dioxide matrix yields an increase in the long-wavelength photoluminescence intensity of silicon nanoclusters due to the passivation of active-recombination centers with hydrogen and a shift of the photoluminescence peak to the region of higher photosensitivity of silicon-based solar cells. It is also shown that, due to the deposited diamond-like film, the resistance of such a structure to degradation upon exposure to γ radiation is improved, which is also defined by the effect of the passivation of radiation-induced activerecombination centers by hydrogen that is released from the films during treatment.

Fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C:F) thin films are developed for a low dielectric constant interlayer dielectric material from hexafluorobenze (C 6F6) or 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (FCH2CF 4) as the source gas and argon as the diluent gas in an asymmetric capacitively coupled rf (radio frequency) plasma reactor and an inductively coupled plasma reactor. Effects of input rf power, fluorination, applied bias voltage and post annealing on the properties of a-C:F films are investigated. For depositing a-C:F films from highly diluted C6F6 (3%) and argon (97%) in the capacitively rf plasma reactor at 150 mTorr, the dielectric constant of the film increases from 2.0 to 2.8 as the rf power is increased from 10 W to 70 W, while the optical energy gap decreases from 2.6 eV to 1.9 eV and the transparency in a ultra-violet range is degraded. At input power of 100 W, the deposited film exhibits high residual stress of 40 MPa and easily peeled off by a Scotch tape test. This is due to high self-bias voltage (-230 V) developed at the substrate holder during deposition. When depositing amorphous carbon films from tetrafluoroethane (TFE) and methane in the capacitively coupled plasma reactor, the incorporation of fluorine in the film is increased with increasing TFE fraction in the feed gas mixture. The dielectric constant of the a-C:F film deposited from pure TFE is as low as 2.3, but the film exhibits poor thermal stability while a-C:H (diamond-likecarbon) film deposited from pure methane has a dielectric constant of 3.8 and shows good thermal stability up to 400°C. As the TFE content in the feed is increased, the dielectric constant and the refractive index decrease while the transparency of the film is enhanced significantly. When depositing a-C:F films from C6F6 (4 sccm) and Ar (5 sccm) in the inductively coupled rf plasma reactor, the bias voltage (from a separate 100 KHz source) applied to the substrate holder affects the film properties significantly. As the negative bias

We have studied, for the first time, the effect of continuously-varying film gradient profiles on the adhesion strength, residual stress, and effective film hardness of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films deposited on stainless steel substrates. Precisely graded DLC films with five polynomial profiles (linear, quadratic, cubic, square root and cubic root profiles) were investigated and compared with pure DLC films, and it was shown that by optimizing the film gradient profile the residual stress and adhesion characteristics can be significantly improved but the effective film hardness can be negatively affected.

Diamond-likecarbon films were deposited using pulsed glow discharge deposition at 4kV. The duty factor was varied and all other parameters were kept constant. It was shown that the contribution of neutral particles to the total number of deposition atoms is much larger than that of energetic ions. At the same time, there is a relationship between the deposition of neutral particles and ion bombardment. The sticking coefficient of the neutral particles in proportional to the flux of energetic ions and does not exceed 5×10-4 for the deposition parameters used in our experiment.

In this study, we implanted N{sup +} and N{sub 2}{sup +} ions into sputter deposited amorphous boron carbide (a-BC) and diamondlikecarbon (DLC) thin films in an effort to understand the chemical bonding involved and investigate possible phase separation routes in boron carbon nitride (BCN) films. In addition, we investigated the effect of implanted C{sup +} ions in sputter deposited amorphous boron nitride (a-BN) films. Implanted ion energies for all ion species were set at 40 KeV. Implanted films were then analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The changes in the chemical composition and bonding chemistry due to ion-implantation were examined at different depths of the films using sequential ion-beam etching and high resolution XPS analysis cycles. A comparative analysis has been made with the results from sputter deposited BCN films suggesting that implanted nitrogen and carbon atoms behaved very similar to nitrogen and carbon atoms in sputter deposited BCN films. We found that implanted nitrogen atoms would prefer bonding to carbon atoms in the films only if there is no boron atom in the vicinity or after all available boron atoms have been saturated with nitrogen. Implanted carbon atoms also preferred to either bond with available boron atoms or, more likely bonded with other implanted carbon atoms. These results were also supported by ab-initio density functional theory calculations which indicated that carbon-carbon bonds were energetically preferable to carbon-boron and carbon-nitrogen bonds.

The diamond-like phases containing carbon atoms with the same degree of hybridization, which is close to sp{sup 3}, are classified. It is found that twenty such phases can exist, and ten of them are described for the first time. Molecular mechanics and semi-empirical quantum-mechanical methods are used to calculate the geometrically optimized structures of diamond-like phase clusters and to determine their structural parameters and properties, such as the density, the bulk modulus, and the sublimation energy. The difference between the properties of the diamond-like phases and those of diamond is found to be determined by the difference between the structures of these phases and diamond.

We describe work in which gold nanoparticles were formed in diamond-likecarbon (DLC), thereby generating a Au-DLC nanocomposite. A high-quality, hydrogen-free DLC thin film was formed by filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition, into which gold nanoparticles were introduced using two different methods. The first method was gold ion implantation into the DLC film at a number of decreasing ion energies, distributing the gold over a controllable depth range within the DLC. The second method was co-deposition of gold and carbon, using two separate vacuum arc plasma guns with suitably interleaved repetitive pulsing. Transmission electron microscope images show that the size of the gold nanoparticles obtained by ion implantation is 3-5 nm. For the Au-DLC composite obtained by co-deposition, there were two different nanoparticle sizes, most about 2 nm with some 6-7 nm. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the implanted sample contains a smaller fraction of sp{sup 3} bonding for the DLC, demonstrating that some sp{sup 3} bonds are destroyed by the gold implantation.

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) films consist of network structure of amorphous carbon and quartz like silicon. In the present work, DLN films have been synthesized on pyrex glass and subsequently, their biocompatibility have been investigated through primary and secondary cell adhesion, cytotoxicity, protein adsorption and murine peritoneal macrophage activation experiments. Variable degree of cell and protein response have been found based on variable film synthesis parameters but in overall, required biocompatibility has been established for all types of film-coating. PMID:17334700

We report the formation of nanoparticles with significant diamond character after UV multi-photon laser excitation of gaseous naphthalene, buffered in static helium gas, at room temperature. The nanoparticles are identified in situ by their absorption and scattering spectra between 400 and 850 nm, which are modeled using Mie theory. Comparisons of the particles' spectroscopic and optical properties with those of carbonaceous materials indicate a sp(3)/sp(2) hybridization ratio of 8:1 of the particles formed. The particle extinction in the closed static (unstirred) gas-phase system exhibits a complex and quasi-oscillatory time dependence for the duration of up to several hours with periods ranging from seconds to many minutes. The extinction dynamics of the system is based on a combination of transport features and particle interaction, predominantly agglomeration. The relatively long period of agglomeration allows for a unique analysis of the agglomeration process of diamond-likecarbon nanoparticles in situ. PMID:27421401

We report the formation of nanoparticles with significant diamond character after UV multi-photon laser excitation of gaseous naphthalene, buffered in static helium gas, at room temperature. The nanoparticles are identified in situ by their absorption and scattering spectra between 400 and 850 nm, which are modeled using Mie theory. Comparisons of the particles' spectroscopic and optical properties with those of carbonaceous materials indicate a sp3/sp2 hybridization ratio of 8:1 of the particles formed. The particle extinction in the closed static (unstirred) gas-phase system exhibits a complex and quasi-oscillatory time dependence for the duration of up to several hours with periods ranging from seconds to many minutes. The extinction dynamics of the system is based on a combination of transport features and particle interaction, predominantly agglomeration. The relatively long period of agglomeration allows for a unique analysis of the agglomeration process of diamond-likecarbon nanoparticles in situ.

The formation of surface hillocks in diamond-likecarbon is studied experimentally and by means of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations with 5 × 106 atoms combined with a thermal spike model. The irradiation experiments with swift heavy ions cover a large electronic stopping range between ˜12 and 72 keV/nm. Both experiments and simulations show that beyond a stopping power threshold, the hillock height increases linearly with the electronic stopping, and agree extremely well assuming an efficiency of approximately 20% in the transfer of electronic energy to the lattice. The simulations also show a transition of sp3 to sp2 bonding along the tracks with the hillocks containing almost no sp3 contribution.

The formation of surface hillocks in diamond-likecarbon is studied experimentally and by means of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations with 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 6} atoms combined with a thermal spike model. The irradiation experiments with swift heavy ions cover a large electronic stopping range between {approx}12 and 72 keV/nm. Both experiments and simulations show that beyond a stopping power threshold, the hillock height increases linearly with the electronic stopping, and agree extremely well assuming an efficiency of approximately 20% in the transfer of electronic energy to the lattice. The simulations also show a transition of sp{sup 3} to sp{sup 2} bonding along the tracks with the hillocks containing almost no sp{sup 3} contribution.

We investigated the tribological properties of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films prepared with TiC interlayer of various thicknesses as the adhesive layer. DLC and TiC thin films were prepared using unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering method using graphite and titanium as targets. TiC films as the interlayer were deposited under DLC films and various physical, tribological, and structural properties of the films fabricated with various TiC interlayer thicknesses were investigated. With various TiC interlayer thicknesses under DLC films, the tribological properties of films were improved with increasing thickness and the DLC/TiC layer fabricated by unbalanced magnetron sputtering method are exhibited maximum high hardness over 27 GPa and high elastic modulus over 242 GPa, and a smooth surface below 0.09 nm. PMID:26726633

In the recent past surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based bio-sensing has gained prominence owing to the simplicity and efficiency of the SERS technique. Dedicated and continuous research efforts have been made to develop SERS substrates that are not only stable, durable and reproducible but also facilitate real-time bio-sensing. In this context diamond, β-SiC and diamond-like-carbon (DLC) and other related thin films have been promoted as excellent candidates for bio-technological applications including real time bio-sensing. In this work, SERS activities of nanodiamond, nano-β-SiC, DLC, thermally annealed diamond thin film surfaces were examined. DLC and thermally annealed diamond thin films were found to show SERS activity without any metal nanostructures on their surfaces. The observed SERS activities of the considered surfaces are explained in terms of the electromagnetic enhancement mechanism and charge transfer resonance process. PMID:25691097

The detection of energetic neutral atoms is a substantial requirement on every space mission mapping particle populations of a planetary magnetosphere or plasma of the interstellar medium. For imaging neutrals, these first have to be ionized. Regarding the constraints of weight, volume and power consumption, the technique of surface ionization complies with all specifications of a space mission. Particularly low energy neutral atoms, which cannot be ionized by passing through a foil, are ionized by scattering on a charge state conversion surface. Since more than 30 years intense research work is done to find suitable materials for use as charge state conversion surfaces. Crucial parameters are the ionisation efficiency of the surface material and the scattering properties. Against all expectations, insulators showed very promising characteristics for serving as conversion surfaces. Particularly diamond-likecarbon was proven advantageously: While efficiently ionising incoming neutral atoms, diamond stands out by its durability and chemical inertness. In the IBEX-Lo sensor, a diamond-likecarbon surface is used for ionisation of neutral atoms. Energy resolved maps of neutral atoms from the IBEX mission revealed phenomena of the interaction between heliosphere and local interstellar medium (LISM) that demand for new theory and explanations [McComas et al., 2011]. Building on the successes of the IBEX mission, a follow up mission concept to further explore the boundaries of the heliosphere already exists. The Interstellar MApping Probe (IMAP) is planned to map neutral atoms in a larger energy range and with a distinct better angular resolution and sensitivity than IBEX [McComas et al.]. The aspired performance of the IMAP sensors implies also for charge state conversion surfaces with improved characteristics. We investigated samples of diamond-likecarbon, manufactured by the chemical vapour and pulsed laser deposition method, regarding their ionisation efficiency

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) has attracted much interest due to the large plasma density and high ionization rate of sputtered materials. It is expected to produce a highly ionized C flux from a graphite target but unfortunately, the ionization rate of carbon is still very small and the discharge on a solid carbon target is unstable as well. In this work, a stable discharged chromium target is used in the preparation of chromium-doped diamond-likecarbon (Cr-DLC) films in HPPMS in reactive C2H2 gas, but the unstable graphite. The chromium concentration in the Cr-DLC films is limited by surface poisoning due to reactive gas. Less than 2% of Cr is incorporated into the DLC films at C2H2 flow rate of 5 sccm or higher. However, as a result of the high ionization rate of the reactive gas in HPPMS, intense ion bombardment of the substrate is realized. The films show a smooth surface and a dense structure with a large sp3 concentration. As the C2H2 flow increase, the sp3 fraction increase and the sp3 to sp2 ratio increase to 0.75 at a C2H2 flow rate of 10 sccm. Compared to the substrate, the Cr-DLC films have lower friction and exhibit excellent corrosion resistance.

This paper describes the preparation of a highly durable single-layer pinhole-free abrasion-resistant chemically inert black diamondlike coating which is suitable for use as a contrast enhancement layer for liquid-crystal display devices. The diamondlike films prepared have an optical transmission of less than 2 percent over the visible spectrum, and a reflectance of about 20 percent. The coating is also electrically insulating and chemically compatible with liquid-crystal display materials. Data on the optical and mechanical properties of these films are presented.

We have demonstrated that multi-wavelength Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies are sufficient to completely characterize the structural properties of ultra-thin hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon (DLC:H) films subjected to rapid thermal annealing (RTA, 1 s up to 659 °C) and to resolve the structural differences between films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, facing target sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc with minute variations in values of mass density, hydrogen content, and sp³ fraction. In order to distinguish unequivocally between films prepared with different density, thickness, and RTA treatment, a new method for analysis of Raman spectra was invented. This newly developed analysis method consisted of plotting the position of the Raman G band of carbon versus its full width at half maximum. Moreover, we studied the passivation of non-radiative recombination centers during RTA by performing measurements of the increase in photoluminescence in conjunction with the analysis of DLC:H networks simulated by molecular dynamics. The results show that dangling bond passivation is primarily a consequence of thermally-induced sp² clustering rather than hydrogen diffusion in the film.

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has been attracted, because sputtered target species are highly ionized. High densities of active species such as radical ions and neutral radicals can be also achieved owing to high density reactive HiPIMS plasmas. We investigate properties of hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon films prepared by reactive HiPIMS of Ar/CH4 gas mixture. The properties of the films strongly depend on the plasma compositions and the kinetic energy of the carbon-containing ions which can enter into the films. The film preparation is performed at an average power of 60 W and a repetition frequency of 110 Hz, changing CH4 fraction up to 15%. Total pressure ranges between 0.3 and 2 Pa. The maximum of instantaneous power is about 20-25 kW, and the magnitude of the current is 36 A. A negative pulse voltage is applied to the substrates for about 10 μs after the target voltage changed from about -600 V to 0 V. The structural properties are characterized by Raman spectroscopy and nano-indentation method. Film hardness strongly depends on the magnitude of negative pulse voltage. By adjusting the magnitude of negative voltage, the film hardness ranges between about 10 and 22 GPa. This work is partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 26420230.

We have deposited nitrogen-doped diamond-likecarbon (N-DLC) films by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using CH4, N2, and Ar, and investigated the effects of N doping on the structure and the electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the N-DLC films. We fabricated undoped DLC/p-type Si and N-DLC/p-type Si heterojunctions and examined the current–voltage characteristics of the heterojunctions. When the N2 flow ratio was increased from 0 to 3.64%, the resistivity markedly decreased from the order of 105 Ω·cm to that of 10‑2 Ω·cm and the internal stress also decreased. The resistivity gradually increased with increasing N2 flow ratio from 3.64 to 13.6%, and then it decreased at a N2 flow ratio of 13.6%. These behaviors can be explained in terms of the clustering of sp2 carbons and the formation of sp3C–N, sp2C=N, sp1C≡N, and C–H n bonds. The rectification ratio of the heterojunction using the N-DLC film prepared at 3.64% was 35.8 at ±0.5 V.

Carbon films have been deposited on Al2O3(0001) substrates by sputtering a graphite target with 3 keV CH4+, N+, and Ar+ ions. The structure and properties of the films were examined by Auger electron spectrometry, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and optical absorption measurement, and were found to be dependent on which sputtering ions were used. The stability of the carbon films was also examined using Fourier-transformed infra-red spectroscopy by annealing the films at temperatures from 25 to 200 °C.

Diamond-likecarbon films were prepared using a reactive Ar/CH4 high-power impulse magnetron sputtering system with a negative pulse voltage source for the substrate, changing the CH4 fraction up to 15% in the total pressure range from 0.3 to 2 Pa. The magnitude of the negative pulse voltage for the substrate was also varied up to about 500 V. The hardness of films monotonically increased with increasing magnitude of the negative pulse voltage. The films with hardnesses between 16.5 and 23 GPa were prepared at total pressures less than 0.5 Pa and CH4 fractions less than 10% by applying an appropriate negative pulse voltage of 300-400 V. In X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the area ratio C-C sp3/(C-C sp2 + C-C sp3) in the C 1s core level was higher than 30% at pressures less than 0.5 Pa and CH4 fractions less than 15%. On the other hand, the films with hardnesses between 5 and 10 GPa were prepared with a relatively high growth rate at the partial pressures of CH4 higher than 0.1 Pa. However, the observation of the photoluminescence background in Raman spectroscopy indicated a relatively high hydrogen content.

Gadolinium zirconium oxide (Gd2Zr2O7) films and diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were prepared by RF-magnetron sputtering and an ion gun method, respectively. To study the thermal conductivity of these films, we used the 3ω and time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) methods. The thermal conductivity showed a film thickness dependence for the 3ω method, and this dependence is described as an interfacial effect by considering heat penetration depth in the measurement. The obtained thermal conductivities of the Gd2Zr2O7 and DLC films, independent of the interfacial effect, are 1.6 and 2.5 W m-1 K-1, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the Gd2Zr2O7 films showed no significant thickness dependence for the TDTR method. The conductivities of Gd2Zr2O7 1.6-1.8 W m-1 K-1 obtained by the TDTR method were close to the thermal conductivity of the Gd2Zr2O7 films, independent of the interfacial thermal effect observed in the 3ω method.

The effect of thermal post-treatments and the use of Ti adhesion layer on the performance of thin film diamondlikecarbon bioelectrodes (DLC) have been investigated in this work. The following results were obtained: (i) The microstructure of the DLC layer after the deposition was amorphous and thermal annealing had no marked effect on the structure, (ii) formation of oxygen containing SiOx and Ti[O,C] layers were detected at the Si/Ti and Ti/DLC interfaces with the help of transmission electron microscope (TEM), (iii) thermal post-treatments increased the polar fraction of the surface energy, (iv) cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements showed that the DLC films had wide water windows and were stable in contact with dilute sulphuric acid and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solutions, (v) use of Ti interlayer between Pt(Ir) microwire and DLC layer was crucial for the electrodes to survive the electrochemical measurements without the loss of adhesion of the DLC layer, (vi) DLC electrodes with small exposed Pt areas were an order of magnitude more sensitive towards dopamine than Pt electrodes and (vii) thermal post-treatments did not markedly change the electrochemical behavior of the electrodes despite the significant increase in the polar nature of the surfaces. It can be concluded that thin DLC bioelectrodes are stable under physiological conditions and can detect dopamine in micro molar range, but their sensitivity must be further improved. PMID:24268281

Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique is used to grow diamond-likecarbon films using pure methane gas plasma. It is known that the structure of the deposited films is largely influenced by the self-bias voltage values and thereafter all the film properties are a function of the structure; this concerns hydrogen concentration and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} hybridisation ratio in DLC films. Then monitoring DLC film properties requires the control of hydrogen concentration and hybridisation rates. This investigation is focused on the study of the structure changes upon the deposition conditions. The correlation between the structure and the deposition conditions was investigated by using various characterization techniques. Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyse the absorption of optically active hydrogen in the DLC films. The deconvolution of 2900 cm{sup -1} absorption band allows the analysis of all different hybridisations and configurations forming the structure. The total quantity of hydrogen in the film is evaluated by Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA). The quantification of sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} concentrations is done from X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). XPS measurements show that DLC films with high quantity of sp{sup 3} hybridisation can be obtained. The discussion and interpretation of these results leads to a better understanding of the relationship between structure and deposition conditions, which, in return, helps us in synthesizing films of desired properties.

The characteristics of the radio frequency (rf) plasma that could hold an entire hemispheric polyurethane diaphragm generated using the hemispheric-type electrode were investigated. The plasma states were measured using Langmuir probe. Although the common rf plasma chemical vapor deposition technique using planar electrodes makes it difficult to apply uniform plasma to three-dimensional structures, the hemispheric-type electrode process could uniformly hold a hemispheric polyurethane diaphragm at self-bias voltage. As a result, this process could uniformly keep the ion sheath on the diaphragm. In case of using this process for diamond-likecarbon (DLC) film deposition, the DLC film was deposited uniformly on the diaphragm at approximately 300 nm. Besides electron temperatures and electron number of densities were similar to the behavior of common rf plasma. This means that the characteristics of plasma are kept in the same states even if the plasma form is controlled using such a hemispheric-type electrode. Based on these results, this hemispheric-type electrode process was observed to be quite applicable to three-dimensional insulator structures.

Hydrogen-free diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films (both amorphous (a-C) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C)) suffer high friction and severe wear losses when tested in inert and/or high vacuum environments. However, they provide anomalous superlow friction and wear coefficients in the presence of hydrogen gas, water vapor and alcohol molecules in the test environment. In this paper, we used such films in a systematic study to further confirm that hydrogen indeed plays an important role in their friction and wear behaviors. To study the effect of hydrogen, we conducted sliding tests in a hydrogen-containing test chamber and analyzed the chemistry of their sliding contact surfaces using a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer. Clearly, the sliding contact regions of the carbon films became very rich in hydrogen after tribological tests in the hydrogen-containing chamber. In an attempt to understand the fundamental tribochemical mechanisms involved, we performed additional tests on these DLC films using a highly instrumented tribometer that permitted us the visualization of triboplasmas generating at or in the vicinity of the sliding surfaces. In this test system, we confirmed the formation of a triboplasma inside the contact area of the DLC films as evidenced by the characteristic UV radiation. Based on these observations, we believe that the formation of such triboplasmas within the contact zones of these DLC films may have triggered unique tribochemical reactions between hydrogen and carbon atoms on their sliding surfaces and thus resulted in very low friction and wear during tests in hydrogen-containing environments.

Superhydrophobic double roughening structure of DLC film was prepared by 2.45 GHz surface wave-excited plasma CVD with the mixture of methane (CH4) and tetramethylsilane (TMS: Si(CH3)4) gases on the undulated DLC film by a series of plasma Ar etching, coating process and plasma Ar etching. Static wetting angle of water was observed that double roughening structure of DLC was superhydrophobicity such as wetting angle 161°. This approach also increased in air pockets easily trap among the needle-like posts. For the low friction at nanoscale, the surface wettability of the solid lubrication played a significant role, when the DLC film modified from flat to double roughening structure, the friction was constantly inner humidity conditions. Results generally showed that humidity had insignificant effect on the nanoscale friction at superhydrophobic DLC surface. The effect of the superhydrophobic double roughening DLC and friction were discussed with the following factors; the surface morphology affinity to needle-like shape, a reduction of the real area of contact, graphitization and easily occur to slip at small contact interface due to superhydrophobicity.

A new lower energy barrier with a two-step pathway of Stone-Wales (SW) ,ond rotation on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is found through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of CNTs under tension. The first step involves going over to a stable sp3-like metastable configuration with half rotated and partially tilted C-C bond. The second step involves going over to the fully rotated C-C bond with the formation of a SW defect in the nanotube. The energy barrier for this two-step dynamic pathway is significantly lower than the previously known static barrier for in-plane rotation of the C-C bond on a tensile strained (> 4%) CNT.

Vitreous silica thin film (a-SiO 2) and mixed deuterated and hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin film (a-C:D,H), grown or deposited, respectively, on silicon, have been irradiated at GANIL in the MeV/u energy range with ions between C and U in order to reach electronic energy loss between 0.7 and 25 keV/nm. The evolution of Si-O bonds and C-D bonds contents was determined by infrared absorption spectroscopy. Complementary physico-chemical characterization was performed for a-C:D,H using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA). For a-SiO 2, the band at 1076 cm -1 decreases with the appearance of a band at 1046 cm -1. In the case of the diamondlike amorphous carbon, the main effects due to MeV/u ion irradiations are the decrease of sp 3 bonding content and of deuterium relative concentration (D/C atomic ratio) as a function of fluence with the appearance of the sp 1 bond. The cylinder radii in which these physical phenomena are confined can be deduced from a statistical analysis. Using the inelastic thermal spike model (i-TS) these track radii can be described using the electron-phonon mean free path which takes values equal to 3 and 0.9 nm for a-SiO 2 and a-C:D, respectively. Extrapolation to low energy range (˜1 MeV in total or ˜0.02 MeV/u) will be made.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films are prepared by a bipolar-type plasma based ion implantation, and the structural differences between DLC films deposited on different electrical conductive substrates, i.e., conductive Si wafers and insulating glass plates are examined by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photo emission spectroscopy (XPS). In the Raman measurements, graphite (G) and disorder (D) peaks are observed for both samples. However, the additional photo luminescence is overlapped on the spectra in the case of on-glass sample. To elucidate the structural difference, the intensity ratio of D to G peak (I(D)/I(G)), G peak position and full width at half maximum (FWHM) are obtained by curve fitting using Gaussian function and linear baseline. It is found that the I(D)/I(G) is lower, G peak position is higher and FWHM of G peak is narrower for on-glass sample than for on-Si sample. According to Robertson [1], lower I(D)/I(G) seems more sp3 C-C bonding in amount for on-glass sample. In contrast, higher G peak position and narrower FWHM of G peak suggest less sp3 C-C bonding in amount for on-glass sample. The results of XPS analysis with C1s spectra reveal that sp3 ratio, i.e., the intensity ratio of sp3/(sp3+sp2) is smaller for on-glass sample than for on-Si sample. The inconsistency of the trend between I(D)/I(G) and other parameters (G peak position and FWHM of G peak) might be caused by the overlap of photo luminescence signal on Raman spectrum as to on-glass sample. From these results, it is considered that sp3 C-C bonding is reduced in amount when using insulating substrate in comparison with conductive substrate.

A method for nanoscale experimental mechanics was developed to address problems in deformation and fracture of micron-scale components in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). Specifically, the effective and local, elastic and fracture behavior of polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) and tetrahedral amorphous diamond-likecarbon (ta-C) were studied using freestanding thin films subject to uniaxial tension. In this method, direct measurements of local deformations were derived from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images in specimen areas varying between 1x2 mum2 and 15x15 mum2 using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to extract displacements and strains with spatial resolution of 1-2 nm. The effective elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of polysilicon and ta-C from the Sandia National Laboratories (SUMMiT) were 155 +/- 6 GPa and 0.22 +/- 0.02, and 759 +/- 22 GPa and 0.17 +/- 0.03, respectively. Similarly, the elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of polysilicon fabricated at MCNC via the Multi-User MEMS Processes (MUMPs) with <110> texture were 164 +/- 7 GPa and 0.22 +/- 0.02, respectively. A second problem studied using the AFM/DIC method was the fracture of polysilicon in the presence of atomically sharp cracks. The effective (macroscopic) Mode-I critical stress intensity factor for polysilicon from different MUMPs runs was 1.00 +/- 0.1 MPa√m, where 0.1 MPa√m was the standard deviation, attributed to local cleavage anisotropy and grain boundary toughening. The variation in the effective critical stress intensity factor and the subcritical crack growth of polysilicon that was spatially recorded and quantified for the first time were the result of the spatial variation of the 4 local stress intensity factor at the crack tip that controlled crack initiation and thus, the overall fracture process. The AFM/DIC method was also applied to determine the minimum size of a polysilicon domain whose effective mechanical behavior could be described by the isotropic elastic

A method of depositing a film (under a radiation flux from a high-temperature black-body model) by magnetron sputtering of a graphite target has been implemented. The elemental composition and structure of deposited films have been analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and characteristic electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. The investigations have shown that chemically pure diamond-like films can be formed at a radiation-flux density no less than 1.5 × 10-4 W/m2 in the spectral range of 170-255 nm.

Hard amorphous hydrogenated carbon, diamond-like films are deposited using an electron cyclotron resonance microwave plasma with a separate radio frequency power bias applied to a substrate stage. The electron cyclotron resonance microwave plasma yields low deposition pressure and creates ion species otherwise unavailable. A magnetic mirror configuration extracts special ion species from a plasma chamber. Different levels of the radio frequency power bias accelerate the ion species of the ECR plasma impinging on a substrate to form different diamond-like films. During the deposition process, a sample stage is maintained at an ambient temperature of less than 100.degree. C. No external heating is applied to the sample stage. The deposition process enables diamond-like films to be deposited on heat-sensitive substrates.

This is the final report of a two-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The purpose of this project was to develop diamond and diamond-like thin-films as hydrogen isotope permeation barriers. Hydrogen embrittlement limits the life of boost systems which otherwise might be increased to 25 years with a successful non-reactive barrier. Applications in tritium processing such as bottle filling processes, tritium recovery processes, and target filling processes could benefit from an effective barrier. Diamond-like films used for low permeability shells for ICF and HEDP targets were also investigated. Unacceptable high permeabilities for hydrogen were obtained for plasma-CVD diamond-like-carbon films.

The geometrically optimized structure and properties of thirteen diamond-likecarbon phases formed by linking or combining fullerene-like clusters (C4, C6, C8, C12, C16, C24, or C48) have been investigated. Atoms in the structures of these phases are located in crystallographically equivalent positions. The calculations have been performed using the density functional theory in the generalized gradient approximation. The calculated values of the structural characteristics and properties (sublimation energies, bulk moduli, band gaps, X-ray diffraction patterns) of the studied diamond-like phases differ significantly from the corresponding values for cubic diamond.

The survival of rat C6 glioma decreased in the presence of implants from VT-16 titanium alloy. Diamond-likecarboncoating of VT-16 alloy slightly increased cell death on day 5 of the experiment (39.9+/-2.1%). The percentage of dead C6 glioma cells inside titanium rings with diamond-likecarboncoating, incorporating up to 3.5 atom.% Ag nanoparticles, was 53.7+/-4.3% on day 5 of culturing, while after doping to 6.7 atom.% Ag cell death reached 66.7+/-3.2% (p<0.05). The maximum toxic effect towards C6 glioma was detected in the specimens coated with diamond-like film with silver nanoparticles. PMID:20027341

In this paper, the influence of the viscoelastic properties of rubber substrate on the tribological behavior of DLC film-coated alkyl acrylate rubber is studied. The mechanical behavior of the rubber was first characterized by creep experiments using spherical indentations. The results were adjusted using a delayed elasticity model, and a numerical simulation of the indentation of the sliding counterpart ball during the tribotest was carried out. The results show a progressive increase of the contact depth, which is in agreement with the experimental observations.

This section is a compilation of transparency templates which describe the goals of the Office of Transportation Materials (OTM) Tribology Program. The positions of personnel on the OTM are listed. The role and mission of the OTM is reviewed. The purpose of the Tribology Program is stated to be `to obtain industry input on program(s) in tribology/advanced lubricants areas of interest`. The objective addressed here is to identify opportunities for cost effective application of diamond and diamond-likecarbon in transportation systems.

Hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon films are prepared using reactive high-density pulsed plasmas of Ar/C2H2 and Ne/C2H2 mixture in the total pressure range from 0.5 to 2 Pa. The plasmas are produced using a reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) system. A negative pulse voltage of ‑500 V is applied to the substrate for a period of 15 µs in the afterglow mode. The growth rate does not strongly depend on the type of ambient gas but it markedly increases to about 2.7 µm/h at a C2H2 fraction of 10% and a total pressure of 2 Pa with increasing C2H2 fraction. The marked increase in the growth rate means that the HiPIMS system can be regarded as a plasma source for the chemical vapor deposition process. The hardness of the films prepared by Ne/C2H2 plasmas is somewhat higher than that of the films prepared by Ar/C2H2 plasmas under the same operating conditions, and the difference becomes larger as the pressure increases. The hardness of the films prepared by Ne/C2H2 plasmas ranges between 11 and 18 GPa. In the Raman spectra, two very broad overlapping bands are assigned as the G (graphite) and D (disorder) bands. The peak position of the G band is roughly independent of the total pressure, whereas the FWHM of the G peak decreases with increasing total pressure as a whole.

A process for forming an adherent diamond-likecarboncoating on a workpiece of suitable material such as an aluminum alloy is disclosed. The workpiece is successively immersed in different plasma atmospheres and subjected to short duration, high voltage, negative electrical potential pulses or constant negative electrical potentials or the like so as to clean the surface of oxygen atoms, implant carbon atoms into the surface of the alloy to form carbide compounds while codepositing a carbonaceous layer on the surface, bombard and remove the carbonaceous layer, and to thereafter deposit a generally amorphous hydrogen-containing carbon layer on the surface of the article.

Variations in materials properties of small clusters of nanometric dimensions were investigated. Investigations were carried out for diamond and diamond-like particles in spherical shapes. Calculations were performed for clusters containing over 1000 carbon atoms. Results indicate that as the cluster size diminishes, (i) the average cohesive energy becomes weaker, (ii) the excess surface energy increases, and (iii) the value for stiffness decreases.

This document is a final report covering work performed under Contract No. DE-FG02-99ER82911 from the Department of Energy under a SBIR Phase II Program. Wear resistant, hard coatings can play a vital role in many engineering applications. The primary goal of this project was to develop coatings containing boron and carbon with hardness greater than 30 GPa and evaluate these coatings for machining applications. UES has developed a number of carbon and boron containing coatings with hardness in the range of 34 to 65 GPa using a combination of filtered cathodic arc and magnetron sputtering. The boron containing coatings were based on TiB2, TiBN, and TiBCN, while the carbon containing coatings ere TiC+C and hydrogen free diamond-like-carbon. Machining tests were performed with single and multilayer coated tools. The turning and milling tests were run at TechSolve Inc., under a subcontract at Ohio State University. Significant increases in tool lives were realized in end milling of H-13 die steel (8X) and titanium alloy (80%) using the TiBN coating. A multilayer TiBN/TiN performed the best in end-milling of highly abrasive Al-Si alloys. A 40% increase in life over the TiAlN benchmark coating was found. Further evaluations of these coatings with commercialization partners are currently in progress.

Antibacterial coating of medical devices is a promising approach to reduce the risk of infection but has not yet been achieved on wear surfaces, e.g. polyethylene (PE). We quantitatively determined the antimicrobial potency of different PE surfaces, which had been conversed to diamond-likecarbon (DLC-PE) and doped with silver ions (Ag-DLC-PE). Bacterial adhesion and planktonic growth of various strains of S. epidermidis on Ag-DLC-PE were compared to untreated PE by quantification of colony forming units on the adherent surface and in the growth medium as well as semiquantitatively by determining the grade of biofilm formation by scanning electron microscopy. (1) A significant (p coatings on wear surfaces of joint prostheses. PMID:26391393

A single argon ion beam source was used to sputter deposit carbon films on fused silica, copper, and tantalum substrates under conditions of sputter deposition alone and sputter deposition combined with simultaneous argon ion bombardment. Simultaneously deposited and ion bombarded carbon films were prepared under conditions of carbon atom removal to arrival ratios of 0, 0.036, and 0.71. Deposition and etch rates were measured for films on fused silica substrates. Resulting characteristics of the deposited films are: electrical resistivity of densities of 2.1 gm/cu cm for sputter deposited films and 2.2 gm/cu cm for simultaneously sputter deposited and Ar ion bombarded films. For films approximately 1700 A thick deposited by either process and at 5550 A wavelength light the reflectance was 0.2, the absorptance was 0.7, the absorption coefficient was 67,000 cm to the -1 and the transmittance was 0.1.

A continuous powder coating system was developed for coatingcarbon fiber with LaRC-TPI (Langley Research Center-Thermoplastic Polyimide), a high-temperature thermoplastic polymide invented by NASA-Langley. The coating line developed used a pneumatic fiber spreader to separate the individual fibers. The polymer was applied within a recirculating powder coating chamber then melted using a combination of direct electrical resistance and convective heating to make it adhere to the fiber tow. The tension and speed of the line were controlled with a dancer arm and an electrically driven fiber wind-up and wind-off. The effects of heating during the coating process on the flexibility of the prepreg produced were investigated. The uniformity with which the fiber tow could be coated with polymer also was examined. Composite specimens were fabricated from the prepreg and tested to determine optimum process conditions. The study showed that a very uniform and flexible prepeg with up to 50 percent by volume polymer could be produced with this powder coating system. The coating line minimized powder loss and produced prepeg in lengths of up to 300 m. The fiber spreading was found to have a major effect on the coating uniformity and flexibility. Though test results showed low composite tensile strengths, analysis of fracture surfaces under scanning electron microscope indicated that fiber/matrix adhesion was adequate.

A process for coatingcarbon fibers with platinum has been developed. The process may also be adaptable to coatingcarbon fibers with other noble and refractory metals, including rhenium and iridium. The coatedcarbon fibers would be used as ingredients of matrix/fiber composite materials that would resist oxidation at high temperatures. The metal coats would contribute to oxidation resistance by keeping atmospheric oxygen away from fibers when cracks form in the matrices. Other processes that have been used to coatcarbon fibers with metals have significant disadvantages: Metal-vapor deposition processes yield coats that are nonuniform along both the lengths and the circumferences of the fibers. The electrical resistivities of carbon fibers are too high to be compatible with electrolytic processes. Metal/organic vapor deposition entails the use of expensive starting materials, it may be necessary to use a furnace, and the starting materials and/or materials generated in the process may be hazardous. The present process does not have these disadvantages. It yields uniform, nonporous coats and is relatively inexpensive. The process can be summarized as one of pretreatment followed by electroless deposition. The process consists of the following steps: The surfaces of the fiber are activated by deposition of palladium crystallites from a solution. The surface-activated fibers are immersed in a solution that contains platinum. A reducing agent is used to supply electrons to effect a chemical reduction in situ. The chemical reduction displaces the platinum from the solution. The displaced platinum becomes deposited on the fibers. Each platinum atom that has been deposited acts as a catalytic site for the deposition of another platinum atom. Hence, the deposition process can also be characterized as autocatalytic. The thickness of the deposited metal can be tailored via the duration of immersion and the chemical activity of the solution.

Development of intrinsically antibacterial surfaces is of key importance in the context of prostheses used in orthopaedic surgery. In this work we present a thorough study of several plasma based coatings that may be used with this functionality: diamondlikecarbon (DLC), fluorine doped DLC (F-DLC) and a high fluorine content carbon-fluor polymer (CFX). The study correlates the surface chemistry and hydrophobicity of the coating surfaces with their antibacterial performance. The coatings were deposited by RF-plasma assisted deposition at room temperature on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) samples. Fluorine content and relative amount of C-C and C-F bond types was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and hydrophobicity by water contact angle measurements. Adherence of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis to non-coated and coated UHMWPE samples was evaluated. Comparisons of the adherence performance were evaluated using a paired t test (two materials) and a Kruskall Wallis test (all the materials). S. aureus was statistically significant (p< 0.001) less adherent to DLC and F -DLC surfaces than S. epidermidis. Both bacteria showed reduction of adherence on DLC/UHMWPE. For S. aureus, reduction of bacterial adherence on F-DLC/UHMWPE was statistically significant respect to all other materials.

Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for coating materials, and the products and compositions produced thereby. Substances, such as diamond or diamond-likecarbon, are deposited onto materials, such as a filament or a plurality of filaments simultaneously, using one or more cylindrical, inductively coupled, resonator plasma reactors. 3 figs.

Methods and apparatuses for coating materials, and the products and compositions produced thereby. Substances, such as diamond or diamond-likecarbon, are deposited onto materials, such as a filament or a plurality of filaments simultaneously, using one or more cylindrical, inductively coupled, resonator plasma reactors.

The oxidation behaviour of Mo-W doped carbon-based coating (Mo-W-C) is investigated in elevated temperature (400-1000 °C). Strong metallurgical bond between Mo-W-C coating and substrate prevents any sort of delamination during heat-treatment. Isothermal oxidation tests show initial growth of metal oxides at 500 °C, however graphitic nature of the as-deposited coating is preserved. The oxidation progresses with further rise in temperature and the substrate is eventually exposed at 700 °C. The performance of Mo-W-C coating is compared with a state-of-the-art DLC(Cr/Cr-WC/W:C-H/a:C-H) coating, which shows preliminary oxidation at 400 °C and local delamination of the coating at 500 °C leading to substrate exposure. The graphitisation starts at 400 °C and the diamond-like structure is completely converted into the graphite-like structure at 500 °C. Dynamic oxidation behaviour of both the coatings is investigated using Thermo-gravimetric analysis carried out with a slow heating rate of 1 °C/min from ambient temperature to 1000 °C. Mo-W-C coating resists oxidation up to ∼800 °C whereas delamination of DLC(Cr/Cr-WC/W:C-H/a:C-H) coating is observed beyond ∼380 °C. In summary, Mo-W-C coating provides improved oxidation resistance at elevated temperature compared to DLC(Cr/Cr-WC/W:C-H/a:C-H) coating.

Diamond-likecarboncoatings are increasingly used as wear-protective coatings for dental implants, artificial joints, etc. Despite their advantages, they may have several weak points such as high internal stress, poor adhesive properties or high sensitivity to ambient conditions. These weak points could be overcome in the case of a new carbon nanocomposite coating (CNC) deposited by using a C60 ion beam on a Co/Cr alloy. The structure of the coatings was investigated by Raman and XPS spectroscopy. The wear resistance was assessed by using a reciprocating tribotester under the loads up to 0.4 N in both dry and wet sliding conditions. Biocompatibility of the dental implants was tested in vivo on rabbits. Biocompatibility, bioactivity and mechanical durability of the CNC deposited on a Co/Cr alloy were investigated and compared with those of bulk Co/Cr and Ti alloys. The wear resistance of the CNC was found to be 250-650 fold higher compared to the Co/Cr and Ti alloys. Also, the CNC demonstrated much better biological properties with respect to formation of new tissues and absence of negative morphological parameters such as necrosis and demineralization. Development of the CNC is expected to aid in significant improvement of lifetime and quality of implants for dental applications. PMID:27336185

Wear-resistant coatings composed of laser ablated hard carbon films, are deposited by pulsed laser ablation using visible light, on instruments such as microscope tips and micro-surgical tools. Hard carbon, known as diamond-likecarbon (DLC), films produced by pulsed laser ablation using visible light enhances the abrasion resistance, wear characteristics, and lifetimes of small tools or instruments, such as small, sharp silicon tips used in atomic probe microscopy without significantly affecting the sharpness or size of these devices. For example, a 10-20 nm layer of diamond-likecarbon on a standard silicon atomic force microscope (AFM) tip, enables the useful operating life of the tip to be increased by at least twofold. Moreover, the low inherent friction coefficient of the DLC coating leads to higher resolution for AFM tips operating in the contact mode.

Wear-resistant coatings composed of laser ablated hard carbon films, are deposited by pulsed laser ablation using visible light, on instruments such as microscope tips and micro-surgical tools. Hard carbon, known as diamond-likecarbon (DLC), films produced by pulsed laser ablation using visible light enhances the abrasion resistance, wear characteristics, and lifetimes of small tools or instruments, such as small, sharp silicon tips used in atomic probe microscopy without significantly affecting the sharpness or size of these devices. For example, a 10--20 nm layer of diamond-likecarbon on a standard silicon atomic force microscope (AFM) tip, enables the useful operating life of the tip to be increased by at least twofold. Moreover, the low inherent friction coefficient of the DLC coating leads to higher resolution for AFM tips operating in the contact mode. 12 figs.

Carbon is the most well-known black material in the history of man. Throughout the centuries, carbon has been used as a black material for paintings, camouflage, and optics. Although, the techniques to make other black surfaces have evolved and become more sophisticated with time, carbon still remains one of the best black materials. Another well-known black surface is black silicon, reflecting less than 0.5% of incident light in visible spectral range but becomes a highly reflecting surface in wavelengths above 1000 nm. On the other hand, carbon absorbs at those and longer wavelengths. Thus, it is possible to combine black silicon with carbon to create an artificial material with very low reflectivity over a wide spectral range. Here we report our results on coating conformally black silicon substrate with amorphous pyrolytic carbon. We present a superior black surface with reflectance of light less than 0.5% in the spectral range of 350 nm to 2000 nm. PMID:27174890

Carbon is the most well-known black material in the history of man. Throughout the centuries, carbon has been used as a black material for paintings, camouflage, and optics. Although, the techniques to make other black surfaces have evolved and become more sophisticated with time, carbon still remains one of the best black materials. Another well-known black surface is black silicon, reflecting less than 0.5% of incident light in visible spectral range but becomes a highly reflecting surface in wavelengths above 1000 nm. On the other hand, carbon absorbs at those and longer wavelengths. Thus, it is possible to combine black silicon with carbon to create an artificial material with very low reflectivity over a wide spectral range. Here we report our results on coating conformally black silicon substrate with amorphous pyrolytic carbon. We present a superior black surface with reflectance of light less than 0.5% in the spectral range of 350 nm to 2000 nm.

Carbon is the most well-known black material in the history of man. Throughout the centuries, carbon has been used as a black material for paintings, camouflage, and optics. Although, the techniques to make other black surfaces have evolved and become more sophisticated with time, carbon still remains one of the best black materials. Another well-known black surface is black silicon, reflecting less than 0.5% of incident light in visible spectral range but becomes a highly reflecting surface in wavelengths above 1000 nm. On the other hand, carbon absorbs at those and longer wavelengths. Thus, it is possible to combine black silicon with carbon to create an artificial material with very low reflectivity over a wide spectral range. Here we report our results on coating conformally black silicon substrate with amorphous pyrolytic carbon. We present a superior black surface with reflectance of light less than 0.5% in the spectral range of 350 nm to 2000 nm. PMID:27174890

Recent discoveries that make possible the growth of crystalline diamond by chemical vapor deposition offer the potential for a wide variety of new applications. This report takes a broad look at the state of the technology following from these discoveries in relation to other allied materials, such as high-pressure diamond and cubic boron nitride. Most of the potential defense, space, and commercial applications are related to diamond's hardness, but some utilize other aspects such as optical or electronic properties. The growth processes are reviewed, and techniques for characterizing the resulting materials' properties are discussed. Crystalline diamond is emphasized, but other diamond-like materials (silicon carbide, amorphous carbon containing hydrogen) are also examined. Scientific, technical, and economic problem areas that could impede the rapid exploitation of these materials are identified. Recommendations are presented covering broad areas of research and development.

Wetting transparency/translucency/opacity of graphene recently has attracted great interest. The underlying mechanisms and physics for simple liquid droplets containing small molecules on graphene coated crystalline substrates have been studied extensively. However, the behavior of more complicated polymeric droplets on graphene coated amorphous substrates has not been explored. In this work, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to examine the wetting of long-chain ZDOL polymeric droplet on graphene coated amorphous hydrogenated diamond-likecarbon or DLCH. We find that at room temperature, the droplet adopts a nearly spherical cap shape with no protruding foot on bare DLCH, and a complex multi-layered structure is formed at the droplet-substrate interface. With addition of graphene layers, externally, the height of the droplet decreases and the protruding foot at the droplet edge appears and grows in size; while internally, the complex multi-layered structure near the droplet-substrate interface remains, but the density distribution for the formed layers becomes increasingly non-uniform. A steady state of the droplet is attained when the number of graphene layers reaches three. These changes can be explained by the interactions between the droplet and substrate across the number of graphene layers. Therefore, it is concluded that the graphene monolayer and bilayer are translucent, while trilayer and above are opaque from the wetting point of view.

The formation of bacteria biofilm on the surface of medical products is a major clinical issue nowadays. Highly adaptive ability of bacteria to colonize the surface of biomaterials causes a lot of infections. This study evaluates samples of the AISI 316 LVM with special nanocomposite silver-doped (by means of ion implantation) diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating prepared by hybrid RF/MS PACVD (radio frequency/magnetron sputtering plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition) deposition technique in order to improve the physicochemical and biological properties of biomaterials and add new features such as antibacterial properties. The aim of the following work was to evaluate antimicrobial efficacy and biocompatibility of gradient a-C:H/Ti + Ag coatings in relation to the physiochemical properties of the surface and chemical composition of coating. For this purpose, samples were tested in live/dead test using two cell strains: human endothelial cells (Ea.hy926) and osteoblasts-like cells (Saos-2). For testing bactericidal activity of the coatings, an exponential growth phase of Escherichia coli strain DH5α was used as a model microorganism. Surface condition and its physicochemical properties were investigated using SEM, AFM and XPS. Examined coatings showed a uniformity of silver ions distribution in the amorphous DLC matrix, good biocompatibility in contact with mammalian cells and an increased level of bactericidal properties. What is more, considering very good mechanical parameters of these Ag including gradient a-C:H/Ti coatings, they constitute an excellent material for biomedical application in e.g. orthopedics or dentistry.

We report the synthesis of superhydrophobic coatings for steel using carbon nanotube (CNT)-mesh structures. The CNT coating maintains its structural integrity and superhydrophobicity even after exposure to extreme thermal stresses and has excellent thermal and electrical properties. The coating can also be reinforced by optimally impregnating the CNT-mesh structure with cross-linked polymers without significantly compromising on superhydrophobicity and electrical conductivity. These superhydrophobic conductive coatings on steel, which is an important structural material, open up possibilities for many new applications in the areas of heat transfer, solar panels, transport of fluids, nonwetting and nonfouling surfaces, temperature resilient coatings, composites, water-walking robots, and naval applications. PMID:19281157

An improved nuclear fuel kernel having at least one pyrolytic carboncoating and a silicon carbon layer is provided in which extensive interaction of fission product lanthanides with the silicon carbon layer is avoided by providing sufficient UO.sub.2 to maintain the lanthanides as oxides during in-reactor use of said fuel.

Report describes laboratory and field tests of candidate paints (primers, tie coats, and topcoats) for use in protecting carbon-steel structures against corrosion in seaside environment at Kennedy Space Center. Coating materials selected because of utility in preventing corrosion, also on basis of legal requirements, imposed in several urban areas, for reduction of volatile organic contents.

An apparatus for producing carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles comprising a container for entraining particles in an aerosol gas, providing an inlet for carbon-containing gas, providing an inlet for plasma gas, a proximate torch for mixing the aerosol gas, the carbon-containing gas, and the plasma gas, bombarding the mixed gases with microwaves, and providing a collection device for gathering the resulting carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles. Also disclosed is a method and apparatus for making hollow carbon nano- or micro-scale spheres.

A pyrolytic carboncoated nuclear fuel particle and method of making it are disclosed. The fuel particle has a core composed of a refractory compound of an actinide metal. The pyrolytic carboncoating surrounds the core so as to provide a void volume therebetween. The coating has an initial density of no greater than 1.45 grams/cm{sup 3} and an anisotropy factor than 3.0 and a final density upon heat treatment above about 2,000 C of greater than 1.7 grams/cm{sup 3} and an anisotropy factor greater than 5.

A pyrolytic carboncoated nuclear fuel particle and method of making it. The fuel particle has a core composed of a refractory compound of an actinide metal. The pyrolytic carboncoating surrounds the core so as to provide a void volume therebetween. The coating has an initial density of no greater than 1.45 grams/cm.sup.3 and an anisotropy factor than 3.0 and a final density upon heat treatment above about 2000.degree. C. of greater than 1.7 grams/cm.sup.3 and an anisotropy factor greater than 5.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films were deposited using the excimer laser assisted physical vapor deposition at room temperature. The films deposited at high vacuum (10-5 mbar) revealed more diamond-like character than under other atmospheres of argon and hydrogen. DLC- films can be deposited with a thickness more than 1 micrometers with the help of either an additional Ti-buffer layer or an in-situ laser treatment during the deposition. The adhesion of the films was qualitatively determined by using the indentation and bending tests. Additionally, the adhesion was found to be dependent on the power densities for the target ablation (IT) and for the in-situ laser treatment (IS), as well as, on the applied buffer layer. The roughness was found to be proportional to the film thickness at various surface morphologies of the substrate. The friction coefficient of DLC-films against steel (100Cr6) was found to be approximately 0.1 and the wear loss of the films was dependent on the properties of substrate material.

Carbon-Carbon Advanced Technologies, Inc. (C-CAT), has developed a high-melt coating for use in nozzle extensions in next-generation spacecraft. The coating is composed primarily of carbon-carbon, a carbon-fiber and carbon-matrix composite material that has gained a spaceworthy reputation due to its ability to withstand ultrahigh temperatures. C-CAT's high-melt coating embeds hafnium carbide (HfC) and zirconium diboride (ZrB2) within the outer layers of a carbon-carbon structure. The coating demonstrated enhanced high-temperature durability and suffered no erosion during a test in NASA's Arc Jet Complex. (Test parameters: stagnation heat flux=198 BTD/sq ft-sec; pressure=.265 atm; temperature=3,100 F; four cycles totaling 28 minutes) In Phase I of the project, C-CAT successfully demonstrated large-scale manufacturability with a 40-inch cylinder representing the end of a nozzle extension and a 16-inch flanged cylinder representing the attach flange of a nozzle extension. These demonstrators were manufactured without spalling or delaminations. In Phase II, C-CAT worked with engine designers to develop a nozzle extension stub skirt interfaced with an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine. All objectives for Phase II were successfully met. Additional nonengine applications for the coating include thermal protection systems (TPS) for next-generation spacecraft and hypersonic aircraft.

Oxide-carbon multilayer coatings were continuously applied to various fibers of nominal SiC composition. A liquid-phase coating system that allows application of the coatings in a controlled atmosphere at relatively rapid rates was employed. Sugar-ammonium hydroxide solutions were used for carboncoatings, and aqueous sols were used for the oxides. Carbon was also deposited simultaneously with alumina by chemical vapor deposition of a hydrocarbon in the coating furnace. The coatings were extensively characterized by optical microscopy and TEM. Problems with embrittlement by oxide coatings and poor adherence of oxide coatings on carbon, and some possible solutions to these problems, are discussed.

The constantly growing market for medical implants and devices caused mainly due to a lack of proper attention attached to the physical condition as well as extreme sports and increased elderly population creates the need of new biocompatible biomaterials with controlled bioactivity and certain useful properties. According to many literature reports, regarding the modifications of variety of different biomaterials using the surface engineering techniques and their biological and physicochemical examination results, the most promising material for great spectra of medical applications seem to be carbon layers. Another issue is the interaction between the implant material and surrounding tissue. In particular cases this interface area is directly exposed to air. Abovementioned concern occurs mainly in case of the external fixations, thus they are more vulnerable to infection. Therefore a crucial role has the inhibition of bacterial adhesion that may prevent implant-associated infections, occurrence of other numerous complications and in particular cases rejection of the implant. For this reason additional features of carboncoatings like antibacterial properties seem to be desired and justified. Silver doped diamond-likecarboncoatings with different Ag concentrations were prepared by hybrid RF PACVD/MS (Radio Frequency Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition/Magnetron Sputtering) deposition technique. Physicochemical parameters like chemical composition, morphology and surface topography, hardness and adhesion were determined. Examined layers showed a uniform distribution of silver in the amorphous DLC matrix, high value of H/E ratio, good adhesion and beneficial topography which make them a perfect material for medical applications e.g. modification of implants for the external fixations.

A thin, uniform, firmly adherent coating of metal gasification catalyst is applied to a carbon-graphite fiber by first coating the fiber with a film-forming polymer containing functional moieties capable of reaction with the catalytic metal ions. Multivalent metal cations such as calcium cross-link the polymer such as a polyacrylic acid to insolubilize the film by forming catalytic metal macro-salt links between adjacent polymer chains. The coated fibers are used as reinforcement for resin composites and will gasify upon combustion without evolving conductive airborne fragments.

Report describes results of tests in which carbon-steel panels coated with one-or two-component solvent-based inorganic zinc primers and top-coated with inorganic topcoat or any of various organic topcoats, placed on outdoor racks at beach at Kennedy Space Center for 5 years. From time to time, slurry of Al(2)O(3) in 10-percent HCI solution applied to some of panels to simulate corrosive effect of effluent from solid-fuel rocket booster engines. Panels coated with inorganic topcoat performed much better than organic-topcoated panels.

A simple method for optimizing the carboncoatings on non-conductive battery cathode material powders has been developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The enhancement of the electronic conductivity of carboncoating enables minimization of the amount of carbon in the composites, allowing improvements in battery rate capability without compromising energy density. The invention is applicable to LiFePO{sub 4} and other cathode materials used in lithium ion or lithium metal batteries for high power applications such as power tools and hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The market for lithium ion batteries in consumer applications is currently $5 billion/year. Additionally, lithium ion battery sales for vehicular applications are projected to capture 5% of the hybrid and electric vehicle market by 2010, and 36% by 2015 (http://www.greencarcongress.com). LiFePO{sub 4} suffers from low intrinsic rate capability, which has been ascribed to the low electronic conductivity (10{sup -9} S cm{sup -1}). One of the most promising approaches to overcome this problem is the addition of conductive carbon. Co-synthesis methods are generally the most practical route for carboncoating particles. At the relatively low temperatures (<800 C) required to make LiFePO{sub 4}, however, only poorly conductive disordered carbons are produced from organic precursors. Thus, the carbon content has to be high to produce the desired enhancement in rate capability, which decreases the cathode energy density.

A critical issue with oxidation protected carbon/carbon composites used for spacecraft thermal protection is the formation of coating pinholes. In laboratory experiments, artificial pinholes were drilled through SiC-coatings on a carbon/carbon material and the material was oxidized at 600, 1000, and 1400 C at reduced pressures of air. The attack of the carbon/carbon was quantified by both weight loss and a novel cross-sectioning technique. A two-zone, one dimensional diffusion control model was adapted to analyze this problem. Agreement of the model with experiment was reasonable at 1000 and 1400 C; however results at lower temperatures show clear deviations from the theory suggesting that surface reaction control plays a role.

Using a continuous powder coating process, more than 1500 meters of T 300/LaRC-TPI prepreg were produced. Two different types of heating sections in the coating line, namely electrical resistance and convection heating, were utilized. These prepregs were used to fabricate unidirectional composites. During composite fabrication the cure time of the consolidation was varied, and composites samples were produced with and without vacuum. Under these specimens, the effects of the different heating sections and of the variation of the consolidation parameters on mechanical properties and void content were investigated. The void fractions of the various composites were determined from density measurements, and the mechanical properties were measured by tensile testing, short beam shear testing and dynamic mechanical analysis.

Carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, have attracted significant attention as good candidates for next-generation heat-spreading materials because of their high thermal conductivity, mechanical flexibility, etc. Regarding the thermal spreading performance of carbon-based nanofilms, remarkable test results have been reported mainly from the industrial side, but their validity and the physical mechanism underlying the heat transfer enhancement are still under debate. In this study, we assess the thermal spreading performance of a multi-walled CNT film on a copper foil using a non-contact characterization method in a simple and methodical manner, and discuss the possibility of carbon nanofilms as heat spreaders based on the experimental and numerical results. This study provides useful information on heat transfer enhancement by carbon nanofilms and could contribute to the development of high-performance carbon-based heat-spreading coatings. PMID:26726629

Over the past couple decades, fundamental research into carbon nanomaterials has produced a steady stream of groundbreaking physical science. Their record setting mechanical strength, chemical stability, and optoelectronic performance have fueled many optimistic claims regarding the breadth and pace of carbon nanotube and graphene integration. However, present synthetic, processing, and economic constraints have precluded these materials from many practical device applications. To overcome these limitations, novel synthetic techniques, processing methodologies, device geometries, and mechanistic insight were developed in this dissertation. The resulting advancements in material production and composite device performance have brought carbon nanomaterials ever closer to commercial implementation. For improved materials processing, vacuum co-deposition was first demonstrated as viable technique for forming carbon nanocomposite films without property distorting covalent modifications. Co-deposited nanoparticle, carbon nanotube, and graphene composite films enabled rapid device prototyping and compositional optimization. Cellulosic polymer stabilizers were then shown to be highly effective carbon nanomaterial dispersants, improving graphene production yields by two orders of magnitude in common organic solvents. By exploiting polarity interactions, iterative solvent exchange was used to further increase carbon nanomaterial dispersion concentrations by an additional order of magnitude, yielding concentrated inks. On top of their low causticity, these cellulosic nanomaterial inks have highly tunable viscosities, excellent film forming capacity, and outstanding thermal stability. These processing characteristics enable the efficient scaling of carbon nanomaterial coatings and device production using existing roll-to-roll fabrication techniques. Utilizing these process improvements, high-performance gas sensing, energy storage, transparent conductor, and photocatalytic

In this paper we modified the surface properties of polymer foils (polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) by flash evaporation of carbon layers (C-layers). Adhesion and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) on carboncoated PTFE and PET were studied in vitro. Chemical composition of deposited C-layers was determined by Raman spectroscopy, surface contact angle was measured by goniometry. Surface morphology of carboncoated samples was studied using atomic force microscopy. Electrical properties of deposited C-layers were determined by measuring its sheet resistance. It was found that the carbon deposition leads to a decrease of surface roughness of PTFE and PET and to a significant increase of sample wettability. Electrical resistance and wettability of deposited C-layers depends significantly on both the thickness of C-layer and the type of polymeric substrate used. It was found that maximal stimulation of the VSMC (adhesion and proliferation) on carboncoated polymers depends on the surface roughness and contact angle of cell carriers used.

Undoped and Ca-O-modified diamond-likecarboncoatings were deposited by a direct current discharge. Hardness and Young's modulus of Ca-O-modified DLCs were reduced in comparison with the undoped DLC, but the adherence of the Ca-O-modified films is improved. Ca-O-modified DLCs have a higher fraction of nano-crystalline regions with carbon in sp2 hybridisation. In addition, an increased oxygen content and CaCO3 was identified in Ca-O-modified DLCs. While mouse fibroblasts of the type L929 attach and grow on unmodified diamond-likecarboncoatings synthesized by the decomposition of hydrocarbon, the addition of CaO-H2O into the precursor gas improves the coatings biological acceptance by the cells. PMID:12451874

The main objective of this dissertation is synthesis of carbon nanotube (CNT) based superhydrophobic materials. The materials were designed such that electrical and mechanical properties of CNTs could be combined with superhydrophobicity to create materials with unique properties, such as self-cleaning adhesives, miniature flotation devices, ice-repellant coatings, and coatings for heat transfer furnaces. The coatings were divided into two broad categories based on CNT structure: Vertically aligned CNT arrays (VA coatings) and mesh-like (non-aligned) carbon nanotube arrays (NA coatings). VA coatings were used to create self-cleaning adhesives and flexible field emission devices. Coatings with self cleaning property along with high adhesiveness were inspired from structure found on gecko foot. Gecko foot is covered with thousands of microscopic hairs called setae; these setae are further divided into hundreds of nanometer sized hairs called spatulas. When gecko presses its foot against any surface, these hairs bend and conform to the topology of the surface resulting into very large area of contact. Such large area of intimate contact allows geckos to adhere to surfaces using van der Waals (vdW) interactions alone. VA-CNTs adhere to a variety of surfaces using a similar mechanism. CNTs of suitable diameter could withstand four times higher adhesion force than gecko foot. We found that upon soiling these CNT based adhesives (gecko tape) could be cleaned using a water droplet (lotus effect) or by applying vibrations. These materials could be used for applications requiring reversible adhesion. VA coatings were also used for developing field emission devices. A single CNT can emit electrons at very low threshold voltages. Achieving efficient electron emission on large scale has a lot of challenges such as screening effect, pull-off and lower current efficiency. We have explored the use of polymer-CNT composite structures to overcome these challenges in this work. NA

Adherent, abrasion-resistant coat deposited with existing equipment. Carbon formed and deposited as coating on copper substrate by pyrolysis of hydrocarbon oil in electrical-arc discharges. Technique for producing carbon deposits on copper accomplished with electrical-discharge-machining equipment used for cutting metals. Applications for new coating technique include the following: solar-energy-collecting devices, coating of metals other than copper with carbon, and carburization of metal surfaces.

Superconducting niobium (Nb) has been successfully obtained by sputter deposition on carbon nanotube fibers. The transport properties of the niobium coating the fibers are compared to those of niobium thin films deposited on oxidized Si substrates during the same deposition run. For niobium films with thicknesses above 300 nm, the niobium coating the fibers and the thin films show similar normal state and superconducting properties with critical current density, measured at T = 4.2 K, of the order of 105 A cm-2. Thinner niobium layers coating the fibers also show the onset of the superconducting transition in the resistivity versus temperature dependence, but zero resistance is not observed down to T = 1 K. We evidence by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and current-voltage measurements that the granular structure of the samples is the main reason for the lack of true global superconductivity for thicknesses below 300 nm.

Reinforced carbon/carbon (RCC) is used to protect the wing leading edge and nose cap of the Space Shuttle Orbiter on re-entry. It is composed of a lay-up of carbon/carbon fabric protected by a SiC conversion coating. Due to the thermal expansion mismatch of the carbon/carbon and the SiC, the SiC cracks on cool-down from the processing temperature. The cracks act as pathways for oxidation of the carbon/carbon. A model for the diffusion controlled oxidation of carbon/carbon through machined slots and cracks is developed and compared to laboratory experiments. A symmetric cylindrical oxidation cavity develops under the slots, confirming diffusion control. Comparison of cross sectional dimensions as a function of oxidation time shows good agreement with the model. A second set of oxidation experiments was done with samples with only the natural craze cracks, using weight loss as an index of oxidation. The agreement of these rates with the model is quite reasonab

This paper describes a flexible and lightweight fabric supercapacitor electrode as a possible energy source in smart garments. We examined the electrochemical behavior of porous carbon materials impregnated into woven cotton and polyester fabrics using a traditional printmaking technique (screen printing). The porous structure of such fabrics makes them attractive for supercapacitor applications that need porous films for ion transfer between electrodes. We used cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study the capacitive behaviour of carbon materials using nontoxic aqueous electrolytes including sodium sulfate and lithium sulfate. Electrodes coated with activated carbon (YP17) and tested at 0.25 A$g1 achieved a high gravimetric and areal capacitance, an average of 85 F$g1 on cotton lawn and polyester microfiber, both corresponding to 0.43 F$cm2.

This paper describes a flexible and lightweight fabric supercapacitor electrode as a possible energy source in smart garments. We examined the electrochemical behavior of porous carbon materials impregnated into woven cotton and polyester fabrics using a traditional printmaking technique (screen printing). The porous structure of such fabrics makes them attractive for supercapacitor applications that need porous films for ion transfer between electrodes. We used cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study the capacitive behaviour of carbon materials using nontoxic aqueous electrolytes including sodium sulfate and lithium sulfate. Electrodes coated with activated carbon (YP17) and tested at ~0.25 A·g⁻¹ achieved a high gravimetric and areal capacitance, an average of 85 F·g⁻¹ on cotton lawn and polyester microfiber, both corresponding to ~0.43 F·cm⁻².

Advances in materials technology have demonstrated that it is possible to get the advantages of diamond in a number of applications without the cost penalty, by coating and chemically bonding an inexpensive substrate with a thin film of diamond-likecarbon (DLC). Diamond films offer tremendous technical and economic potential in such advances as chemically inert protective coatings; machine tools and parts capable of resisting wear 10 times longer; ball bearings and metal cutting tools; a broad variety of optical instruments and systems; and consumer products. Among the American companies engaged in DLC commercialization is Diamonex, Inc., a diamond coating spinoff of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Along with its own proprietary technology for both polycrystalline diamond and DLC coatings, Diamonex is using, under an exclusive license, NASA technology for depositing DLC on a substrate. Diamonex is developing, and offering commercially, under the trade name Diamond Aegis, a line of polycrystalline diamond-coated products that can be custom tailored for optical, electronic and engineering applications. Diamonex's initial focus is on optical products and the first commercial product is expected in late 1990. Other target applications include electronic heat sink substrates, x-ray lithography masks, metal cutting tools and bearings.

Cr doped diamondlikecarbon (Cr-DLC) coatings were deposited by using a combined system consisting of middle frequency (MF) magnetron sputtering and ion plating. The structure and properties of the undoped and Cr-doped DLC coatings were analyzed by various testing, such as Raman, XPS, hardness and temperature-dependent frictional wear testing. The results showed that Cr-DLC coatings with low Cr concentration was a effective protective coating containing Cr-C nanometer grains, whose mechanical properties were obviously improved, such as, residual stress and cohesive strength, and still kept good wear resistance at the ambient temperature of 400 °C.

Dense BC{sub x} phases with high boron concentration are predicted to be metastable, superhard, and conductors or superconductors depending on boron concentration. However, up to this point, diamond-like boron rich carbides BC{sub x} (dl-BC{sub x}) phases have been thought obtainable only through high pressure and high temperature treatment, necessitating small specimen volume. Here, we use electron energy loss spectroscopy combined with transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, surface Brillouin scattering, laser ultrasonics (LU) technique, and analysis of elastic properties to demonstrate that low pressure synthesis (chemical vapor deposition) of BC{sub x} phases may also lead to the creation of diamond-like boron rich carbides. The elastic properties of the dl-BC{sub x} phases depend on the carbon sp²versus sp³ content, which decreases with increasing boron concentration, while the boron bonds determine the shape of the Raman spectra of the dl-BC{sub x} after high pressure-high temperature treatment. Using the estimation of the density value based on the sp³ fraction, the shear modulus μ of dl-BC₄, containing 10% carbon atoms with sp³ bonds, and dl-B₃C₂, containing 38% carbon atoms with sp³ bonds, were found to be μ = 19.3 GPa and μ = 170 GPa, respectively. The presented experimental data also imply that boron atoms lead to a creation of sp³ bonds during the deposition processes.

The in-vitro and in-vivo biocompatibility of two oxides (TiO and ZrO) and diamond-likecarbon (D) coated stents has been assessed and compared with uncoated stainless steel (St) stents. In vitro studies demonstrated that both fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion were significantly higher on D coating compared to those on oxide coatings and uncoated stainless steel. In addition TiO and ZrO coatings showed evidence of a minor inflammatory response and more complete endothelialization of the aorta than that seen around D coated and uncoated St stents. The resulting neointimal growth in the aorta with TiO, ZrO, and D coated and uncoated St stents, measured 8 weeks after stenting (the ratio of the neointima in the stented artery to the non-stented artery) was 1.03 + 0.28, 0.85 + 0.36, 1.78 + 1.26, and 1.15 + 0.56, accordingly. From the data obtained it could be concluded that the increased neointima measured around D-coated stents, may be due to both, the inferior haemocompatibility of the diamond-likecarboncoating and mechanical instability of D coating observed in an in vivo environment. PMID:21210514

Diamondlike carbon (DLC) films were deposited on infrared transmitting optical windows and were evaluated as protective coatings for these windows exposed to particle and rain erosion. The DLC films were deposited on zinc selenide (ZnSe) and zinc sulfide (ZnS) by three different ion beam methods: (1) sputter deposition from a carbon target using an 8-cm argon ion source; (2) direct deposition by a 30-cm hollow cathode ion source with hydrocarbon gas in argon; and (3) dual beam direct deposition by the 30-cm hollow cathode ion source and an 8-cm argon ion source. In an attempt to improve the adherence of the DLC films on ZnSc and ZnS, ion beam cleaning, ion implantation with helium and neon ions, or sputter deposition of a thin, ion beam intermediate coating was employed prior to deposition of the DLC film. The protection that the DLC films afforded the windows from particle and rain erosion was evaluated, along with the hydrogen content, adherence, intrinsic stress, and infrared transmittance of the films. Because of the elevated stress levels in the ion beam sputtered DLC films and in those ion beam deposited with butane, films thicker than 0.1 micron and with good adherence on ZnS and ZnSe could not be generated. An intermediate coating of germanium successfully allowed the DLC films to remain adherent to the optical windows and caused only negligible reduction in the specular transmittance of the ZnS and ZnSe at 10 microns.

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The project objective was to evaluate the use of carbon/carbon-fiber-reinforced composites for use in endoprosthetic devices. The application of these materials for the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joints of the hand was investigated. Issues concerning mechanical properties, bone fixation, biocompatibility, and wear are discussed. A system consisting of fiber reinforced materials with a pyrolytic carbon matrix and diamond-like, carbon-coated wear surfaces was developed. Processes were developed for the chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) of pyrolytic carbon into porous fiber preforms with the ability to tailor the outer porosity of the device to provide a surface for bone in-growth. A method for coatingdiamond-likecarbon (DLC) on the articulating surface by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was developed. Preliminary results on mechanical properties of the composite system are discussed and initial biocompatibility studies were performed.

The interaction between slow highly-charged ions (SHCI) of different charge states from an electron-beam ion trap and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces is studied in terms of modification of electronic states at single-ion impact nanosizeareas. Results are presented from AFM/STM analysis of the induced-surface topological features combined with Raman spectroscopy. I-V characteristics for a number of different impact regions were measured with STM and the results argue for possible formation of diamond-like nanoscale structures at the impact sites.

Mo (molybdenum) doped diamondlikecarbon (Mo-DLC) coatings with improved mechanical and blood compatibility properties were deposited by closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The undoped and Mo-doped DLC coatings were analyzed by various characterization techniques such as Raman spectra, Atomic force microscopy, and temperature-dependent frictional wear testing. The results showed that the Mo-DLC coating with low Mo concentration was a effective protective coating with reduced residual stress and increased cohesive strength, and kept good wear resistance at the ambient temperature of 500 °C. The blood compatibility of Mo-DLC coatings was investigated by platelet adhesion. The results showed that the amount of thrombus on the Mo-DLC nanocomposite coatings was much less than that of thrombus on pyrolytic carbon films. The Mo-DLC nanocomposite coatings would be a new kind of promising materials applied to artificial heart valve and endovascula stent.

DiamondLikeCarbon (DLC) or Hard Carbon (HC) single layer coatings on optical substrates are commonly used. As a single layer, the resulting average reflectance in different spectral ranges (about 2.5% in the 3-5 μm region) needs improvements. We propose multilayer coatings having a DLC upper layer applied on Si, Ge and other materials. These coatings result in an average reflection of less than 0.5% in either the 3.4-5 μm or the 8-11.5 μm regions. The average transmittance in these regions is more than 97%. The durability is comparable to single layer DLC coatings. These coatings are suitable to front surface FLIR lens assemblies. The effect on the performance of a zoom lens assembly and the reduction of the Narcissus effect is shown.

Textile blood vessels with a length of 30 cm were coated with amorphous diamond-likecarbon (DLC) layers with thicknesses up to 200 nm. The layers were created by pulsed laser deposition in vacuum or argon ambient. The percentage of sp3 carbon was evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Depending on the deposition conditions the sp3 content varied from ˜40% to 60%. The adhesion of the DLC layers to the textile vessels was checked. The preliminary biocompatibility results from in vivo tests with sheep are also given.

A metal oxide-carbon composite includes a carbon aerogel with an oxide overcoat. The metal oxide-carbon composite is made by providing a carbon aerogel, immersing the carbon aerogel in a metal oxide sol under a vacuum, raising the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to atmospheric pressure, curing the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol at room temperature, and drying the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to produce the metal oxide-carbon composite. The step of providing a carbon aerogel can provide an activated carbon aerogel or provide a carbon aerogel with carbon nanotubes that make the carbon aerogel mechanically robust. Carbon aerogels can be coated with sol-gel silica and the silica can be converted to silicone carbide, improved the thermal stability of the carbon aerogel.

Regardless of environment (ultrahigh vacuum, humid air, dry nitrogen, or water), ion-beam-deposited diamondlike carbon (DLC) and nitrogen-ion-implanted, chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond films had low steady-state coefficients of friction (less than 0.1) and low wear rates (less than or equal to 10(exp -6)cu mm/N(dot)m). These films can be used as effective wear-resistant, self-lubricating coatings regardless of environment. On the other hand, as-deposited, fine-grain CVD diamond films; polished, coarse-grain CVD diamond films; and polished and then fluorinated, coarse-grain CVD diamond films can be used as effective wear-resistant, self-lubricating coatings in humid air, in dry nitrogen, and in water, but they had a high coefficient of friction and a high wear rate in ultrahigh vacuum. The polished, coarse-grain CVD diamond film revealed an extremely low wear rate, far less than 10(exp 10) cu mm/N(dot)m, in water.

In interferometric cryogenic gravitational wave detectors, there are plans to cool mirrors and their suspension systems (payloads) in order to reduce thermal noise, that is, one of the fundamental noise sources. Because of the large payload masses (several hundred kg in total) and their thermal isolation, a cooling time of several months is required. Our calculation shows that a high-emissivity coating (e.g. a diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating) can reduce the cooling time effectively by enhancing radiation heat transfer. Here, we have experimentally verified the effect of the DLC coating on the reduction of the cooling time.

Recent interests in curvature- and stress-induced pattern formation and pattern selection motivate the present study. Surface morphological wrinkling of a cylindrical shell supported by a soft core subjected to axial compression is investigated based on a nonlinear 3D finite element model. The post-buckling behavior of core-shell cylinders beyond the first bifurcation often leads to complicated responses with surface mode transitions. The proposed finite element framework allows predicting and tracing these bifurcation portraits from a quantitative standpoint. The occurrence and evolution of 3D instability modes including sinusoidally deformed axisymmetric patterns and non-axisymmetric diamond-like modes will be highlighted according to critical dimensionless parameters. Besides, the phase diagram obtained from dimensional analyses and numerical results could be used to guide the design of core-shell cylindrical systems to achieve the desired instability patterns.

Carbon-coated iron nanoparticles were synthesized by detonating a mixture of ferrocene, naphthalene and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) in an explosion vessel under low vacuum conditions (8.1 kPa). The RDX functioned as an energy source for the decomposition of ferrocene and naphthalene. The carbon-coated iron nanoparticles were formed as soot-like deposits on the inner surface of the reactor, which were characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, Raman spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. And a portion of the detonation soot was treated with hydrochloric acid. The product was carbon-coated nanoparticles in perfect core-shell structures with graphitic shells and bcc-Fe cores. The detonation technique offers an energy-saving route to the synthesis of carbon-coated nanomaterials.

A method for coating small diameter, low density particles with pyrolytic carbon is provided by fluidizing a bed of particles wherein at least 50 per cent of the particles have a density and diameter of at least two times the remainder of the particles and thereafter recovering the small diameter and coated particles.

Diffusion of perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) lubricants on a hard disk surface is an important self healing characteristic to replenish PFPEs lubricants on their uncovered surface. In the present paper, we study the diffusion coefficients of non-functional PFPE Z and PFPE Zdol with functional end groups as a function of lubricant film thickness on a thin DLC (diamond-like) film. Diffusion coefficients of PFPE Z and PFPE Zdol molecules on a DLC film are calculated using the equation of Einstein's law of diffusion (Guo et al. J. Appl. Phys 93:8707, 2003; Guo Ph.D. thesis, 2006; Chung et al. IEEE Trans. Magn. 45:3644, 2009) considering the movement of their center of mass to reach their equilibrium positions from their original configurations. And it is averaged with the film thickness to show the thickness dependence on the diffusion of PFPEs lubricants on a DLC substrate. Firstly diffusion coefficients of sub-monolayer of partially coverage PFPE Z and PFPE Zdol on a DLC substrate are studied briefly and secondly the diffusion coefficient of monolayer PFPE Zdol on a DLC substrate is also studied elaborately. To support our results, we compare our thickness-dependent diffusion coefficients of PFPE Z and PFPE Zdol with those of published theoretical (Guo Ph.D. thesis, 2006; Chung et al. IEEE Trans. Magn. 45:3644, 2009) and experimental results (Chung et al. Tribol. Lett. 32:35, 2008; Ma et al. Tribol. Lett. 10:203, 2001). Here we study how lubricant film thickness plays an important role on its diffusion. Effects of polar end bead functionality, lubricant film thickness enhance the anisotropic behavior of diffusion coefficients of PFPE Zdol on the DLC substrate. But in the present analysis we consider hard disk carbon overcoat as a thin DLC film and we include all of their atoms within the force cut-off distance with PFPEs lubricant molecules for the interactions to study the thickness dependence on their diffusion coefficients.

The development of low-temperature pyrolytic carbon (LT-PyC) coatings as described in this report was initiated to reduce the release of volatile waste form components and to permit the coating of larger glass marbles that have low temperature softening points (550 to 600/sup 0/C). Fluidized bed coaters for smaller particles (<2mm) and newly developed screw-agitated coaters for larger particles (>2mm) were used. Coating temperatures were reduced from >1000/sup 0/C for conventional CVD high temperature PyC to approx. 500/sup 0/C by using a catalyst. The coating gas combination that produced the highest quality coatings was found to be Ni(CO)/sub 4/ as the catalyst, C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ as the carbon source gas, and H/sub 2/ as a diluent. Carbon deposition was found to be temperature dependent with a maximum rate observed at 530/sup 0/C. Coating rates were typically 6 to 7 ..mu..m/hour. The screw-agitated coater approach to coating large-diameter particles was demonstrated to be feasible. Clearances are important between the auger walls and coater to eliminate binding and attrition. Coatings prepared in fluidized bed coaters using similar parameters are better in quality and are deposited at two to three times the rate as in screw-agitated coaters.

Results are presented for a study to determine the mechanisms involved in a high-temperature pack cementation process which provides a silicon carbide coating on a carbon-carbon composite. The process and materials used are physically and chemically analyzed. Possible reactions are evaluated using the results of these analytical data. The coating is believed to develop in two stages. The first is a liquid controlled phase process in which silicon carbide is formed due to reactions between molten silicon metal and the carbon. The second stage is a vapor transport controlled reaction in which silicon vapors react with the carbon. There is very little volume change associated with the coating process. The original thickness changes by less than 0.7%. This indicates that the coating process is one of reactive penetration. The coating thickness can be increased or decreased by varying the furnace cycle process time and/or temperature to provide a wide range of coating thicknesses.

An oxidation resistant coating is produced on carbon-base materials, and the same processing step effects an infiltration of the substrate with silicon containing material. The process comprises making a slurry of nickel and silicon powders in a nitrocellulose lacquer, spraying onto the graphite or carbon-carbon substrate, and sintering in vacuum to form a fused coating that wets and covers the surface as well as penetrates into the pores of the substrate. Optimum wetting and infiltration occurs in the range of Ni-60 w/o Si to Ni-90 w/o Si with deposited thicknesses of 25-100 mg/sq. cm. Sintering temperatures of about 1200 C to about 1400 C are used, depending on the melting point of the specific coating composition. The sintered coating results in Ni-Si intermetallic phases and SiC, both of which are highly oxidation resistant.

The conditions for obtaining carbon nanomaterials with the use of a low-temperature plasma are described. The product obtained was analyzed using the electron microscopy and a laser diffraction particle-size analyzer. The influence of the carbon nanomaterials on the physicochemical properties of paint coatings, their adhesion, impact and bending strengths, hardness, and protection characteristics was investigated.

Reinforced carbon-carbon material specimens were machined from 19 and 33 ply flat panels which were fabricated and processed in accordance with the specifications and procedures accepted for the fabrication and processing of the leading edge structural subsystem (LESS) elements for the space shuttle orbiter. The specimens were then baseline coated and tetraethyl orthosilicate impregnated, as applicable, in accordance with the procedures and requirements of the appropriate LESS production specifications. Three heater bars were ATJ graphite silicon carbide coated with the Vought 'pack cementation' coating process, and three were stackpole grade 2020 graphite silicon carbide coated with the chemical vapor deposition process utilized by Vought in coating the LESS shell development program entry heater elements. Nondestructive test results are reported.

Ever-increasing needs for high-performance ball- and roller-bearing components that can endure extreme applications have led to a growing interest in hard coatings for improved fatigue life and wear resistance. In particular, hard TiN and TiC coatings and, quite recently, diamondlikecarbon films have attracted much attention from manufacturers that produce bearing systems for both rolling- and sliding-contact applications. This paper presents an overview that highlights recent incremental progress in achieving improved fatigue and wear resistance in bearing steels through the use of hard coatings. Effects of coating adhesion, thickness, and morphology on fatigue and wear resistance of hard coatings are discussed in detail. Specific references are made to a few mechanistic models that correlate coating thickness and adhesion to improved fatigue life and wear resistance.

Hard and wear resistant ceramics coatings are often applied to metallic surfaces to enhance their tribological performance. Using the scratch and twin roller tests, we evaluated the surface contact damage and the mechanism of wear in different ceramic coating. In amorphous diamond-likecarboncoating, the damage and eventual material removal occurred by straight cracking that follows the trajectory of the tensile stresses. Damage in a crystalline titanium nitride (TiN) coating with a columnar grain structure occurred primarily by inter-columnar cracking perpendicular to the surface. For crystalline chromium nitride (CrN) coating with equiaxed grains, contact damage consisted primarily of grain boundary cracking and wear is due to surface-layer grain pullout. Results of the present study showed the dominant effect of ceramic coating microstructure on the contact damage and wear mechanism.

Previous studies on silicon (Si) indicate that lithiation-induced fracture of crystalline Si nanoparticles can be greatly inhibited if their diameter is reduced to below a critical scale of around 150 nm. In this paper, in situ lithiation of individual carbon-coated Si nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) is conducted which shows that Si@C NPs will fracture during lithiation even though their diameter is much smaller than 150 nm, implying a deleterious effect of the carboncoating on the integrity of the Si@C NPs during lithiation. To shed light on this effect, finite element analysis is carried out which reveals that the carboncoating, if fractured during lithiation, will induce cracks terminating at the C/Si interface. Such cracks, upon further lithiation, can immediately propagate into the Si core due to the elevated driving force caused by material inhomogeneity between the coating and core. To prevent the fracture of the carboncoating so as to protect the Si core, a design guideline is proposed by controlling the ratio between the diameter of Si core and the thickness of carboncoating. The results in this paper should be of practical value to the design and application of Si-based core-shell structured anode materials for lithium ion batteries. PMID:26878967

The distribution of solar-wind ions in Genesis mission collectors, as determined by depth profiling analysis, constrains the physics of ion solid interactions involving the solar wind. Thus, they provide an experimental basis for revealing ancient solar activities represented by solar-wind implants in natural samples. We measured the first depth profile of ⁴He in a collector; the shallow implantation (peaking at <20 nm) required us to use sputtered neutral mass spectrometry with post-photoionization by a strong field. The solar wind He fluence calculated using depth profiling is ~8.5 x 10¹⁴ cm⁻². The shape of the solar wind ⁴He depth profile ismore » consistent with TRIM simulations using the observed ⁴He velocity distribution during the Genesis mission. It is therefore likely that all solar-wind elements heavier than H are completely intact in this Genesis collector and, consequently, the solar particle energy distributions for each element can be calculated from their depth profiles. Ancient solar activities and space weathering of solar system objects could be quantitatively reproduced by solar particle implantation profiles.« less

We report nitrogen-induced enhanced electron tunnel transport and improved nanomechanical properties in band gap-modulated nitrogen doped DLC (N-DLC) quantum superlattice (QSL) structures. The electrical characteristics of such superlattice devices revealed negative differential resistance (NDR) behavior. The interpretation of these measurements is supported by 1D tight binding calculations of disordered superlattice structures (chains), which include bond alternation in sp(3)-hybridized regions. Tandem theoretical and experimental analysis shows improved tunnel transport, which can be ascribed to nitrogen-driven structural modification of the N-DLC QSL structures, especially the increased sp(2) clustering that provides additional conduction paths throughout the network. The introduction of nitrogen also improved the nanomechanical properties, resulting in enhanced elastic recovery, hardness, and elastic modulus, which is unusual but is most likely due to the onset of cross-linking of the network. Moreover, the materials' stress of N-DLC QSL structures was reduced with the nitrogen doping. In general, the combination of enhanced electron tunnel transport and nanomechanical properties in N-DLC QSL structures/devices can open a platform for the development of a new class of cost-effective and mechanically robust advanced electronic devices for a wide range of applications. PMID:26343275

Single-walled carbon nanotubes were covalently end-functionalized with various donor ligands in order to facilitate the coordination of metal catalyst nanoparticles. The purpose of this study was to optimize catalyst complexation to SWNT ends, allowing growth from preformed seeds (SWNT-cats). The "SWNT amplification" method is envisioned as a route to bulk single-chirality nanotube samples. Study by 31P MAS NMR was undertaken in order to characterize SWNT phosphine derivatives. The synthesis of new N-aryl dipyridylamines (dpas) and related compounds is reported. The products, chelating N-donor ligands, will be used to prepare copper complexes. Copper dpa complexes are able to discriminate between olefin isomers in simple mixtures. Similar triarylamines have been similarly prepared and characterized; these have been tested for their ability to separate SWNTs of particular diameters (or chiral angles) by selective pi-pi stacking interactions. This method is a possible route to single or few-chirality samples, which could then be subjected to SWNT amplification. A novel method for production of high-yield dispersions of single and few layer graphene is presented. o-Dichlorobenzene suspensions of graphene provide twice the yield of previous methods. Moreover, ODCB graphene dispersions form a convenient platform from which to pursue covalent derivatization of graphene in a nonpolar medium. ODCB dispersions have been used to covalently functionalize graphene with perfluoroalkyl groups by a free radical method. Initiation of radical reactions was achieved by both UV photolysis and thermal decomposition of peroxides. Perfluoroalkylated graphene is highly exfoliated and shows great promise for use in polymer composites, lubricants and coatings. Chemical bath deposition (CBD) of II-VI semiconductor materials on SWNT substrates is demonstrated. Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices have been prepared from these SWNT-semiconductor composites. The CBD process of depositing

Nanoparticle (NP) superlattices represent a unique material architecture for energy conversion and storage. Recent reports on carbon-coated NP superlattices have shown exciting electrochemical properties attributed to their rationally designed compositions and structures, fast electron transport, short diffusion length, and abundant reactive sites via enhanced coupling between close-packed NPs, which are distinctive from their isolated or disordered NP or bulk counterparts. In this minireview, we summarize the recent developments of highly-ordered and interconnected carbon-coated NP superlattices featuring high surface area, tailorable and uniform doping, high conductivity, and structure stability. We then introduce the precisely-engineered NP superlattices by tuning/studying specific aspects, including intermetallic structures, long-range ordering control, and carboncoating methods. In addition, these carbon-coated NP superlattices exhibit promising characteristics in energy-oriented applications, in particular, in the fields of lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and electrocatalysis. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed to further explore the carbon-coated NP superlattices for optimized electrochemical performances.

Nanoparticle (NP) superlattices represent a unique material architecture for energy conversion and storage. Recent reports on carbon-coated NP superlattices have shown exciting electrochemical properties attributed to their rationally designed compositions and structures, fast electron transport, short diffusion length, and abundant reactive sites via enhanced coupling between close-packed NPs, which are distinctive from their isolated or disordered NP or bulk counterparts. In this minireview, we summarize the recent developments of highly-ordered and interconnected carbon-coated NP superlattices featuring high surface area, tailorable and uniform doping, high conductivity, and structure stability. We then introduce the precisely-engineered NP superlattices by tuning/studying specific aspects, including intermetallic structures, long-range ordering control, and carboncoating methods. In addition, these carbon-coated NP superlattices exhibit promising characteristics in energy-oriented applications, in particular, in the fields of lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and electrocatalysis. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed to further explore the carbon-coated NP superlattices for optimized electrochemical performances. PMID:27432112

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) thin films, comprising the networks of a-C:H and a-Si:O were deposited on pyrex glass or silicon substrate using gas precursors (e.g., hexamethyldisilane, hexamethyldisiloxane, hexamethyldisilazane, or their different combinations) mixed with argon gas, by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. Surface morphology of DLN films was analyzed by atomic force microscopy. High-resolution transmission electron microscopic result shows that the films contain nanoparticles within the amorphous structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to determine the structural change within the DLN films. The hardness and friction coefficient of the films were measured by nanoindentation and scratch test techniques, respectively. FTIR and XPS studies show the presence of CC, CH, SiC, and SiH bonds in the a-C:H and a-Si:O networks. Using Raman spectroscopy, we also found that the hardness of the DLN films varies with the intensity ratio ID/IG. Finally, we observed that the DLN films has a better performance compared to DLC, when it comes to properties like high hardness, high modulus of elasticity, low surface roughness and low friction coefficient. These characteristics are the critical components in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and emerging nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) thin films, comprising the networks of a-C:H and a-Si:O were deposited on pyrex glass or silicon substrate using gas precursors (e.g., hexamethyldisilane, hexamethyldisiloxane, hexamethyldisilazane, or their different combinations) mixed with argon gas, by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. Surface morphology of DLN films was analyzed by atomic force microscopy. High-resolution transmission electron microscopic result shows that the films contain nanoparticles within the amorphous structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to determine the structural change within the DLN films. The hardness and friction coefficient of the films were measured by nanoindentation and scratch test techniques, respectively. FTIR and XPS studies show the presence of C-C, C-H, Si-C, and Si-H bonds in the a-C:H and a-Si:O networks. Using Raman spectroscopy, we also found that the hardness of the DLN films varies with the intensity ratio I{sub D}/I{sub G}. Finally, we observed that the DLN films has a better performance compared to DLC, when it comes to properties like high hardness, high modulus of elasticity, low surface roughness and low friction coefficient. These characteristics are the critical components in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and emerging nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

Infrared astronomical instruments require absorptive coatings on internal surfaces to trap scattered and stray photons. This is typically accomplished with any one of a number of black paints. Although inexpensive and simple to apply, paint has several disadvantages. Painted surfaces can be fragile, prone to shedding particles, and difficult to clean. Most importantly, the vacuum performance is poor. Recently a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process was developed to apply thick (30 μm) diamond-likecarbon (DLC) based protective coatings to the interior of oil pipelines. These DLC coatings show much promise as an infrared black for an ultra high vacuum environment. The coatings are very robust with excellent cryogenic adhesion. Their total infrared reflectivity of < 10% at normal incidence approaches that of black paints. We measured outgas rates of <10-12 Torr liter/sec cm2, comparable to bare stainless steel.

Infrared astronomical instruments require absorptive coatings on internal surfaces to trap scattered and stray photons. This is typically accomplished with any one of a number of black paints. Although inexpensive and simple to apply, paint has several disadvantages. Painted surfaces can be fragile, prone to shedding particles, and difficult to clean. Most importantly, the vacuum performance is poor. Recently a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process was developed to apply thick (30 {micro}m) diamond-likecarbon (DLC) based protective coatings to the interior of oil pipelines. These DLC coatings show much promise as an infrared black for an ultra high vacuum environment. The coatings are very robust with excellent cryogenic adhesion. Their total infrared reflectivity of < 10% at normal incidence approaches that of black paints. We measured outgas rates of <10{sup -12} Torr liter/sec cm{sup 2}, comparable to bare stainless steel.

The tensile properties and fracture behavior of polyimide composite bundles incorporating carbon nanotubes-grafted (CNT-grafted) and polyimide-coated (PI-coated) high-tensile-strength polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based (T1000GB), and high-modulus pitch-based (K13D) carbon fibers were investigated. The CNT were grown on the surface of the carbon fibers by chemical vapor deposition. The pyromellitic dianhydride/4,4'-oxydianiline PI nanolayer coating was deposited on the surface of the carbon fiber by high-temperature vapor deposition polymerization. The results clearly demonstrate that CNT grafting and PI coating were effective for improving the Weibull modulus of T1000GB PAN-based and K13D pitch-based carbon fiber bundle composites. In addition, the average tensile strength of the PI-coated T1000GB carbon fiber bundle composites was also higher than that of the as-received carbon fiber bundle composites, while the average tensile strength of the CNT-grafted T1000GB, K13D, and the PI-coated K13D carbon fiber bundle composites was similar to that of the as-received carbon fiber bundle composites.

Chemically oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were deposited onto commercial E-glass fibers using a dipping procedure assisted by ultrasonic dispersion. In order to investigate the role of the fiber coating (known as "sizing"), MWCNTs were deposited on the surface of as-received E-glass fibers preserving the proprietary coating as well as onto glass fibers which had the coating deliberately removed. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to assess the distribution of MWCNTs onto the fibers. A rather homogeneous coverage with high density of MWCNTs onto the glass fibers is achieved when the fiber coating is maintained. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses of the chemical composition of the glass fiber coating suggest that such coating is a complex mixture with multiple oxygen-containing functional groups such as hydroxyl, carbonyl and epoxy. FTIR and XPS of MWCNTs over the glass fibers and of a mixture of MWCNTs and fiber coating provided evidence that the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of the oxidized MWCNTs react with the oxygen-containing functional groups of the glass fiber coating, forming hydrogen bonding and through epoxy ring opening. Hydrogen bonding and ester formation between the functional groups of the MWCNTs and the silane contained in the coating are also possible.

A molten carbonate fuel cell cathode having a cathode body and a coating of a mixed oxygen ion conductor materials. The mixed oxygen ion conductor materials are formed from ceria or doped ceria, such as gadolinium doped ceria or yttrium doped ceria. The coating is deposited on the cathode body using a sol-gel process, which utilizes as precursors organometallic compounds, organic and inorganic salts, hydroxides or alkoxides and which uses as the solvent water, organic solvent or a mixture of same.

Ultrathin carbon layers, on the order of 3-6 nm in thickness, were formed on glass substrates by spin coating and pyrolysis of polymer precursors. The organic precursors used were poly(furfuryl alcohol), coal tar pitch, and a photoresist. The carboncoatings were characterized by ellipsometry, optical profilometry, water contact angle, confocal Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. We also report the transparency, hydrophobicity, friction, weathering resistance, and electrical conductivity of the carbon-coated glass. The results reveal that up to 97% transparent, ultrathin carbon films could be formed on glass substrates with a root-mean-square roughness of less than about to 0.3 nm. This carbon layer modified the otherwise hydrophilic surface of the glass to yield a water contact angle of 85{sup o}. The coatings were also found to provide a water barrier against weathering under hot and humid conditions. A 4.5-nm-thick carbon film on glass had a sheet resistance of 55.6 k {Omega} m and a conductivity of 40 S/cm.

Field-emission cathodes containing arrays of carbon nanotubes coated with diamond or diamondlike carbon (DLC) are undergoing development. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been shown to perform well as electron field emitters. The idea underlying the present development is that by coatingcarbon nanotubes with wideband- gap materials like diamond or DLC, one could reduce effective work functions, thereby reducing threshold electric-field levels for field emission of electrons and, hence, improving cathode performance. To demonstrate feasibility, experimental cathodes were fabricated by (1) covering metal bases with carbon nanotubes bound to the bases by an electrically conductive binder and (2) coating the nanotubes, variously, with diamond or DLC by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. In tests, the threshold electric-field levels for emission of electrons were reduced by as much as 40 percent, relative to those of uncoated- nanotube cathodes. Coating with diamond or DLC could also make field emission-cathodes operate more stably by helping to prevent evaporation of carbon from nanotubes in the event of overheating of the cathodes. Cathodes of this type are expected to be useful principally as electron sources for cathode-ray tubes and flat-panel displays.

In this research, the technical feasibility of two novel applications of thin carboncoatings is demonstrated. The first application consists of using thin carboncoatings on molds for molding ultra-thin plastic parts (<0.5 mm thickness) with lower pressures by promoting wall slip. The second application consists of a new approach to provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for plastic parts using in mold coated nanoparticle thin films or nanopapers to create a conductive top layer. During this research, the technical feasibility of a new approach was proven which provides injection molding of ultra-thin parts at lower pressures, without the need of fast heating/fast cooling or other expensive mold modification. An in-house developed procedure by other members of our group, was employed for coating the mold surface using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) resulting in a graphene coating with carbide bonding to the mold surface. The coating resulted in a significant decrease of surface friction and consequently easiness of flow when compared to their uncoated counterparts. Thermoplastic polymers and their composites are a very attractive alternative but are hindered by the non-conductive nature of polymers. There are two general approaches used to date to achieve EMI shielding for plastic products. One is to spray a conductive metal coating onto the plastic surface forming a layer that must maintain its shielding effectiveness (SE), and its adhesion to the plastic throughout the expected life of the product. However, metal coatings add undesirable weight and tend to corrode over time. Furthermore, scratching the coating may create shielding failure; therefore, a protective topcoat may be required. The other approach is to use polymer composites filled with conductive fillers such as carbon black (CB), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and carbon nanotube (CNT). While conductive fillers may increase the electrical conductivity of polymer composites, the loading of

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be applied to assemble a new type of solar selective coating system for solar thermal applications. In this work the predominant absorption processes occurring by interaction with π-plasmon and Van Hove singularities (VHS) were investigated by UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy and ellipsometry. Not only optical properties for as deposited SWCNT thin films itself, but also the potential for systematic tailoring will be presented. Besides low cost technologies required, the adjustability of optical properties, as well as their thermal stability render CNT based solar selective coatings as promising alternative to commercially available coating systems.

To determine whether the preceramic inorganic polymer coating can provide not only the thermal oxidative protection during both processing and use in metal matrix composites or ceramic matrix composites but also the appropriate composite properties, it is desirable to know how and at what point in the thermal processing cycle the coating-carbon fiber interface undergoes changes that affect the interfacial adhesion and failure mode. Also, it is important to identify the locus of interfacial failure i.e. between fiber and coating or between coating and matrix. This work is directed at determining the interfacial changes and the locus of failure in order to optimize both the coating chemistry and the conversion process. The characteristics of the benchmark interface coating material, silicon oxycarbide, SiO{sub x}C{sub y} or black glass have been studied. SiO{sub x}C{sub y} was chosen because (1) SiO{sub x}C{sub y} is amorphous, (2) it is possible to prepare very well-defined materials, where the chemistry and the evolution of the material with time and temperature are known in detail, and (3) SiO{sub x}C{sub y} is a matrix material used in commercial composites. It has been shown that these coatings are effective in increasing the oxidation resistance of the carbon fibers themselves.

Hydrogenated diamond-like-carbon (a-C:H) and hydrogen-free amorphous carbon (a-C) coatings are known to be biocompatible and have good chemical inertness. For this reason, both of these materials are strong candidates to be used as a matrix that embeds metallic elements with antimicrobial effect. In this comparative study, we have incorporated silver into diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings by plasma based ion implantation and deposition (PBII&D) using methane (CH4) plasma and simultaneously depositing Ag from a pulsed cathodic arc source. In addition, we have grown amorphous carbon - silver composite coatings using a dual-cathode pulsed filtered cathodic-arc (FCA) source. The silver atomic content of the deposited samples was analyzed using glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOES). In both cases, the arc pulse frequency of the silver cathode was adjusted in order to obtain samples with approximately 5 at.% of Ag. Surface hardness of the deposited films was analyzed using the nanoindentation technique. Cell viability for both a-C:H/Ag and a-C:/Ag samples deposited on 24-well tissue culture plates has been evaluated.

The electromagnetic response of a heterostructure based on a monolayer of hollow glassy carbon spheres packed in 2D was experimentally surveyed with respect to its response to microwaves, namely, the Ka-band (26-37 GHz) frequency range. Such an ordered monolayer of spheres mimics the well-known "moth-eye"-like coating structures, which are widely used for designing anti-reflective surfaces, and was modelled with the long-wave approximation. Based on the experimental and modelling results, we demonstrate that carbon hollow spheres may be used for building an extremely lightweight, almost perfectly absorbing, coating for Ka-band applications.

Na-doped hydroxyapatite (Na-HA) coating was directly prepared onto carbon/carbon (C/C) composites using electrochemical deposition (ECD) and the mean thickness of the coating is approximately 10 ± 2 μm. The formed Na-HA crystals which are Ca-deficient, are rod-like with a hexagonal cross section. The Na/P molar ratios of the coating formed on C/C substrate is 0.097. During the deposition, the Na-HA crystals grow in both radial and longitudinal directions, and faster along the longitudinal direction. The pattern formation of crystal growth leads to dense coating which would help to increase the bonding strength of the coating. The average shear bonding strength of Na-HA coating on C/C is 5.55 ± 0.77 MPa. The in vitro bioactivity of the Na-HA coated C/C composites were investigated by soaking the samples in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for 14 days. The results indicate that the Na-HA coated C/C composites can rapidly induce bone-like apatite nucleation and growth on its surface in SBF. The in vitro cellular biocompatibility tests reveal that the Na-HA coating was better to improve the in vitro biocompatibility of C/C composites compared with hydroxyapatite (HA) coating. It was suggested that the Na-HA coating might be an effective method to improve the surface bioactivity and biocompatibility of C/C composites.

Surface modification of materials is a rapidly growing field as structures become smaller, more integrated and complex. It opens up the possibility of combining the optimum bulk properties of a material with optimized surface properties such as enhanced bonding, corrosion resistance, reactivity, stress transfer, and thermal, optical or electrical behavior. Therefore, surface functionalization or modification can be an enabling step in a wide variety of modern applications. In this dissertation several surface modification approaches on carbon foam and carbon nano-fibers will be discussed. These are recently developed sp2 graphitic carbon based structures that have significant potential in aerospace, automotive and thermal applications. Influence of surface modification on composite formation and properties have also been investigated. Two types of property changes have been investigated: one for enhancing the surface reactivity and another for surface inertness. Characterization techniques such as X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Contact Angle Measurement, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and mechanical testing are used in this study to find out the influence of these coatings on surface composition, chemistry and morphology. Mechanical testing has been performed on composites and stand alone foam to study the influence of surface modification on physical and mechanical properties of the composite materials. The effectiveness of these coatings on metallic/graphite interface has also been investigated for metal-matrix composite related applications. Additionally, the influence of plasma coatings on nucleation and growth of nanotubes on larger carbon structures (to produce multiscale, multifunctional materials) have also been studied. It is seen that the liquid phase activation treatment introduces oxygen functional groups on the surface, but may cause severe enough degradation that

We have proposed a simple way to coatdiamond-likecarbon (DLC) on the inner walls of bottles using modified plasma based ion implantation (PBII) technique. Using this way, we have succeeded in DLC coating on inner walls of poly-(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles. We have also succeeded in printing some characters, as "AIST". Meyer hardness and Young's modulus of the DLC-coated PET films were estimated from penetration depth-load relationship obtained by a depth sensing indenter with a diamond spherical-conical indenter (0.83 μm in radius and 90° in angle). It was revealed that Meyer hardness and Young's modulus increased with the DLC coatings. For the 5-min coated PET film, the Meyer hardness and Young's modulus were about 8 and 4 times larger than those of the uncoated PET film, respectively. The results of the indentation tests agreed well with the results of micro-scratch tests.

Previous studies on silicon (Si) indicate that lithiation-induced fracture of crystalline Si nanoparticles can be greatly inhibited if their diameter is reduced to below a critical scale of around 150 nm. In this paper, in situ lithiation of individual carbon-coated Si nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) is conducted which shows that Si@C NPs will fracture during lithiation even though their diameter is much smaller than 150 nm, implying a deleterious effect of the carboncoating on the integrity of the Si@C NPs during lithiation. To shed light on this effect, finite element analysis is carried out which reveals that the carboncoating, if fractured during lithiation, will induce cracks terminating at the C/Si interface. Such cracks, upon further lithiation, can immediately propagate into the Si core due to the elevated driving force caused by material inhomogeneity between the coating and core. To prevent the fracture of the carboncoating so as to protect the Si core, a design guideline is proposed by controlling the ratio between the diameter of Si core and the thickness of carboncoating. The results in this paper should be of practical value to the design and application of Si-based core-shell structured anode materials for lithium ion batteries.Previous studies on silicon (Si) indicate that lithiation-induced fracture of crystalline Si nanoparticles can be greatly inhibited if their diameter is reduced to below a critical scale of around 150 nm. In this paper, in situ lithiation of individual carbon-coated Si nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) is conducted which shows that Si@C NPs will fracture during lithiation even though their diameter is much smaller than 150 nm, implying a deleterious effect of the carboncoating on the integrity of the Si@C NPs during lithiation. To shed light on this effect, finite element analysis is carried out which reveals that the carboncoating, if fractured during lithiation, will induce cracks terminating at the C/Si interface. Such cracks, upon

Incorporation of selected metallic elements into diamond-likecarbon (DLC) has emerged as an innovative approach to add unique functional properties to DLC coatings, thus opening up a range of new potential applications in fields as diverse as sensors, tribology, and biomaterials. However, deposition by plasma techniques of metal-containing DLC coatings with well-defined structural properties and metal distribution is currently hindered by the limited understanding of their growth mechanisms. We report here a silver-incorporated diamond-likecarboncoating (Ag-DLC) prepared in a hybrid plasma reactor which allowed independent control of the metal content and the carbon film structure and morphology. Morphological and chemical analyses of Ag-DLC films were performed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The vertical distribution of silver from the surface toward the coating bulk was found to be highly inhomogeneous due to top surface segregation and clustering of silver nanoparticles. Two plasma parameters, the sputtered Ag flux and ion energy, were shown to influence the spatial distribution of silver particles. On the basis of these findings, a mechanism for Ag-DLC growth by plasma was proposed. PMID:27454833

The 6k carbon fiber Torayca T800H was coated with pyrolytic carbon by a CVD process. Fiber bundles were tested and evaluated. By this procedure, the whole distribution of the failure probability with respect to the fiber strength is obtained in a single experiment. The 50% strength of the fiber bundle, i.e., the strength at which 50% of the fibers in the bundle are broken, is inversely proportional to the square root of the thickness of the coating. By relating the strength to the defect size according to linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), the probability density function of the defects was derived. It is Weibull-shaped for the uncoated fiber and shows an increasing bimodal shape for the increasing coating thicknesses.

Novel ultrasound transducers were created with a composite of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that was dip coated onto the end faces of optical fibers. The CNTs were functionalized with oleylamine to allow for their dissolution in xylene, a solvent of PDMS. Ultrasound pulses were generated by illuminating the composite coating with pulsed laser light. At distances of 2 to 16 mm from the end faces, ultrasound pressures ranged from 0.81 to 0.07 MPa and from 0.27 to 0.03 MPa with 105 and 200 μm core fibers, respectively. Using an optical fiber hydrophone positioned adjacent to the coated 200 µm core optical fiber, ultrasound reflectance measurements were obtained from the outer surface of a sheep heart ventricle. The results of this study suggest that ultrasound transducers that comprise optical fibers with CNT-PDMS composite coatings may be suitable for miniature medical imaging probes.

Diamondlike carbon (DLC) films have the potential to protect optical windows in applications where it is important to maintain the integrity of the specular transmittance of these films on ZnS and ZnSe infrared transmitting windows. The films must be adherent and durable such that they protect the windows from rain and particle erosion as well as chemical attack. In order to optimize the performance of these films, 0.1 micro m thick diamondlike carbon films were deposited on fused silica and silicon wafers, using three different methods of ion beam deposition. One method was sputter deposition from a carbon target using an 8 cm ion source. The merits of hydrogen addition were experimentally evaluated in conjunction with this method. The second method used a 30 cm hollow cathode ion source with hydrocarbon/Argon gases to deposit diamondlike carbon films from the primary beam at 90 to 250 eV. The third method used a dual beam system employing a hydrocarbon/Argon 30 cm ion source and an 8 cm ion source. Films were evaluated for adherence, intrinsic stress, infrared transmittance between 2.5 and 50 micro m, and protection from particle erosion. An erosion test using a sandblaster was used to give quantitative values of the protection afforded to the fused silica by the diamondlike carbon films. The fused silica surfaces protected by diamondlike carbon films were exposed to 100 micro m diameter SiO particles at 60 mi/hr (26.8/sec) in the sandblaster.

We have created a novel nanostructure by coatingcarbon nanotubes with a thin functional oxide layer. The structure was fabricated by sputter deposition of a thin film of oxide materials on aligned carbon nanotubes, which were grown on a tungsten substrate with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. This structure combines the low work function of the oxide coating with a high field enhancement factor introduced by carbon nanotubes and we have demonstrated that it can be used as a highly efficient electron source. A field enhancement factor as high as 2000 was observed and thermionic electron emission current at least an order of magnitude higher than the emission from a conventional oxide cathode was obtained.

In recent years amorphous carboncoatings found growing interest because of their optical and protective properties. We have deposited hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H) from an RF excited discharge in benzene vapour. Substrates include germanium, glass and MgF2. The refractive index can be tuned between 1.8 and 2.2 and efficient antireflection coatings on Ge have been prepared. We have determined the optical absorption from the UV to the IR range (0.2 - 25 μm). A typical 1 µm thick a-C:H film is transparent (> 50% transmission) from 750 nm to the far infrared. Amorphous carbon films are harder than sapphire and are resistant to concentrated acids and bases.

Graphical abstract: Carbon nanofibers were subjected to a two-step pretreatment, sensitization and activation. Carbon nanofibers were encapsulated by a uniform layer of nickel nanoparticles. The prepared composites are ferromagnetic and with a small value of coercivity. Upon such functionalization, the carbon nanofibers can be aligned in a relatively small external magnetic field. Highlights: {center_dot} A simple microwave-assisted procedure for the magnetic composite. {center_dot} Dense layer of nickel on pretreated carbon nanofibers. {center_dot} Ferromagnetic properties and low coercivity. {center_dot} A long-chain aligned structure under magnetic field. -- Abstract: Magnetic composites of nickel-coatedcarbon nanofibers have been successfully fabricated by employing a simple microwave-assisted procedure. The scanning electron microscopy images show that a complete and uniform nickel coating with mean size of 25 nm could be deposited on carbon fibers. Magnetization curves demonstrate that the prepared composites are ferromagnetic and that the coercivity is 96 Oe. The magnetic carbon nanofibers can be aligned as a long-chain structure in an external magnetic field.

Carbon nanomaterials have been cited to provide great potential in biomedical applications such as in vivo imaging, drug delivery, and biomarker detection. Yet poor dispersibility in physiological conditions greatly limits their biomedical promise. As with most nanoparticles, the surface interaction with biological systems is the driving force towards effective activity in vivo, namely exhibiting dispersion, low cytotoxicity, and molecular targetability. Therefore, by surface engineering carbon nanomaterials with a distinct biocompatible coating, their applications in imaging, drug delivery, biomarker detection, and therapy can be empowered. We render carbon nanomaterials useful for such in vivo biomedical applications by providing dispersibility, delivery and sensing capabilities with a facile surface coating method. A single, yet multifunctional, hyaluronic acid-based biosurfactant was strategically chosen to meet the design criteria. The amphiphilic material, hyaluronic acid-5beta-cholanic acid (HACA), is an efficient dispersing agent for carbon nanomaterials, including single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), in physiological conditions for a sustained period of time. Furthermore, the biological activity and cancer cell targeting of HACA wrapped SWCNTs (HACA-SWCNTs) were evaluated in vitro and in vivo utilizing imaging techniques intrinsic to SWCNTs, HACA, and HACA-SWCNTs. Fluorescent dye-labeled HACA-SWCNTs were designed to activate fluorescence signals intracelluarly, not only serving as an approach to image cellular uptake but also to determine the coating efficacy of HACA onto SWCNTs. SWCNT localization within cells was also confirmed by tracking the intrinsic Raman signals of carbon nanomaterials. In vivo photoacoustic, fluorescence, and positron emission tomography imaging display high tumor targeting capability of HACA-SWCNTs in a murine tumor model. Once targeted, HACA-SWCNTs have potential to serve as photothermal tumor ablation agents after laser

DLC (diamond-likecarbon) coatings have remarkable tribological properties due mainly to their good frictional behavior. These coatings can be applied in many industrial and biomedical applications, where sliding can generate wear and frictional forces on the components, such as orthopaedic metal implants. This work reports on the development and tribological characterization of functionally gradient titanium alloyed DLC coatings. A PVD-magnetron sputtering technique has been used as the deposition method. The aim of this work was to study the tribological performance of the DLC coating when metal to metal contact (cobalt chromium or titanium alloys) takes place under dry and lubricated test conditions. Prior work by the authors demonstrates that the DLC coating reduced considerably the wear of the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). The DLC coating during mechanical testing exhibited a high elastic recovery (65%) compared to the values obtained from Co-Cr-Mo (15%) and Ti-6Al-4V (23%). The coating exhibited an excellent tribo-performance against the Ti-6Al-4V and Co-Cr-Mo alloys, especially under dry conditions presenting a friction value of 0.12 and almost negligible wear. This coating has passed biocompatibility tests for implant devices on tissue/bone contact according to international standards (ISO 10993). PMID:15348654

A novel approach for the fabrication of durable superhydrophobic (SH) carbon soot coatings used in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) based gas or liquid sensors is reported. The method uses modification of the carbon soot through polymerization of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) by means of glow discharge RF plasma. The surface characterization shows a fractal-like network of carbon nanoparticles with diameter of ~50 nm. These particles form islands and cavities in the nanometer range, between which the plasma polymerized hexamethyldisiloxane (PPHMDSO) embeds and binds to the carbon chains and QCM surface. Such modified surface structure retains the hydrophobic nature of the soot and enhances its robustness upon water droplet interactions. Moreover, it significantly reduces the insertion loss and dynamic resistance of the QCM compared to the commonly used carbon soot/epoxy resin approach. Furthermore, the PPHMDSO/carbon soot coating demonstrates durability and no aging after more than 40 probing cycles in water based liquid environments. In addition, the surface layer keeps its superhydrophobicity even upon thermal annealing up to 540 °C. These experiments reveal an opportunity for the development of soot based SH QCMs with improved electrical characteristics, as required for high-resolution gas or liquid measurements.

A method of making carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles comprising entraining particles in an aerosol gas, providing a carbon-containing gas, providing a plasma gas, mixing the aerosol gas, the carbon-containing gas, and the plasma gas proximate a torch, bombarding the mixed gases with microwaves, and collecting resulting carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles.

The performance of a thin-layer flow detector with a glassy carbon electrode coated with a film of protonated poly(4-vinylpyridine) is described. Substantial improvement in the selectivity of amperometric detection for liquid chromatography and flow injection systems is observed as a result of excluding cationic species from the surface. The detector response was evaluated with respect to flow rate, solute concentration, coating scheme, film-to-film reproducibility, and other variables. Despite the increase in diffusional resistance, low detection limits of ca. 0.04 and 0.10 ng of ascorbic acid and uric acid, respectively, are maintained. Protection from organic surfactants can be coupled to the charge exclusion effect by using a bilayer coating, with a cellulose acetate film atop the poly(4-vinylpyridine) layer. Applicability to urine sample is demonstrated.

Coating of stainless steel with diamond-likecarbon or certain fluoropolymers reduced or almost eliminated adhesion and biofilm growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Deinococcus geothermalis, Meiothermus silvanus and Pseudoxanthomonas taiwanensis. These species are known to be pertinent biofilm formers on medical implants or in the wet-end of paper machines. Field emission scanning electron microscopic analysis showed that Staph. epidermidis, D. geothermalis and M. silvanus grew on stainless steel using thread-like organelles for adhesion and biofilm formation. The adhesion threads were fewer in number on fluoropolymer-coated steel than on plain steel and absent when the same strains were grown in liquid culture. Psx. taiwanensis adhered to the same surfaces by a mechanism involving cell ghosts on which the biofilm of live cells grew. Hydrophilic (diamond-likecarbon) or hydrophobic (fluoropolymer) coatings reduced the adherence of the four test bacteria on different steels. Selected topographic parameters, including root-mean-square roughness (S (q)), skewness (S (sk)) and surface kurtosis (S (ku)), were analysed by atomic force microscopy. The surfaces that best repelled microbial adhesion of the tested bacteria had higher skewness values than those only slightly repelling. Water contact angle, measured (theta (m)) or roughness corrected (theta (y)), affected the tendency for biofilm growth in a different manner for the four test bacteria. PMID:18379832

Paraffin coatings on glass slides were investigated through both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and spin relaxation measurement for cesium (Cs) vapor. The components of the glass substrate, such as silicon and oxygen, existed in the XPS spectra of the coated slides, indicating the imperfection of the prepared paraffin coatings. The substrate was not observed after the annealing of the coatings in Cs vapor, which is known as a “ripening” process for spin relaxation measurement. We found a general trend that effective anti-spin relaxation performance requires high paraffin and low Cs coverage on the surface. We also examined a type of diamond-likecarbon film, anticipating the effect of anti-spin relaxation; our attempts have failed to date.

A bibliography of references on investigations of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) materials is presented. The list was developed over several years of active research and by computerized searches for the following keywords: diamondlike carbon, diamond-likecarbon, hard carbon, i-carbon, A-C:H, and amorphous hydrogenated carbon. The bibliography has 241 citations, begins in 1956, includes an author index and was last updated in August 1985.

A bibliography of references on investigations of diamond-likecarbon (DLC) materials is presented. The list was developed over several years of active research and by computerized searches for the following keywords: diamondlike carbon, diamond-likecarbon, hard carbon, i-carbon, A-C:H, and amorphous hydrogenated carbon. The bibliography has 241 citations, begins in 1956, includes an author index and was last updated in August 1985.

We study Heisenberg antiferromagnets on a diamond-like decorated square lattice perturbed by further neighbor couplings. The second-order effective Hamiltonian is calculated and the resultant Hamiltonian is found to be a square-lattice quantum-dimer model with a finite hopping amplitude and no repulsion, which suggests the stabilization of the plaquette phase. Our recipe for constructing quantum-dimer models can be adopted for other lattices and provides a route for the experimental realization of quantum-dimer models.

Purified single wall carbon nano tubes (SWNTs) produced from the high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPCO) process have been dissolved /dispersed in oleum. These solutions /dispersions were optically homogeneous and have been used to form stand-alone SWNT films. The washed, dried, and heat-treated films are isotropic. The scanning electron micrographs of the film surface shows that the nanotube ropes (or fibrils) of about 20 nm diameters are arranged just like macroscopic fibers in a non-woven fabric. Polarized Raman spectroscopy of the SWNT film confirms the isotropic nature of these films. The films are being characterized for their thermal, mechanical as well electrical properties. Thin nano tube coatings, including optically transparent coatings, have also been made on a variety of substrates such as glass, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, silicon wafer, as well as stainless steel.

A combined study of the crystalline structure, the chemical interaction, and diffusion processes of the substrate/layer interface of amorphous-carbon hard coatings is presented. The structure of the coatings and their gradient layer interface to a chromium buffer layer has been investigated on two substrates [Si(100) and tool steel] using x-ray diffraction (XRD). Chemical interaction and diffusion processes at the interfaces and within the layers were analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy depth profiles. The chromium buffer layer revealed similar textured structure on both substrates. The subsequent gradient layer was determined (within XRD limits) to be amorphous and composed of an amorphous-carbon and chromium-carbide composite. The chromium carbide maintains the same stoichiometry (Cr3C2), regardless of the gradually changing chromium content. No large-scale interdiffusion was measured, either between or within the layers.

Pure carbon- (C), nitrogen- (N) and titanium- (Ti) doped diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings were deposited on silicon (Si) micro-molds by dc magnetron sputtering deposition to improve the tribological performance of the micro-molds. The coated and uncoated Si molds were used in injection molding for the fabrication of secondary metal-molds, which were used for the replication of micro-fluidic devices. The bonding structure, surface roughness, surface energy, critical load and friction coefficient of the DLC coatings were characterized with micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle, microscratch and ball-on-disc sliding wear tests, respectively. It was observed that the doping conditions had significant effects on Raman peak positions, mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings. The G peak shifted toward a lower position with N and Ti doping. The DLC coating deposited with 1 sccm N2 flow rate showed the lowest G peak position and the smoothest surface. The surface energies of the pure carbon and Ti-doped DLC coatings were lower than that of the N-doped DLC, which was more significant at a higher N2 flow rate. In terms of adhesion and friction coefficient, it was observed that the Ti-doped DLC coating had the best performance. Ti incorporated in the DLC coating decreased the residual stress of the coating, which improved the adhesive strength of the coating with the Si substrate.

Low-sulfur and low-aromatic diesel fuels are being introduced in order to reduce various types of emissions in diesel engines to levels in compliance with current and impending US federal regulations. The low lubricity of these fuels, however, poses major reliability and durability problems for fuel injection components that depend on diesel fuel for their lubrication. In the present study, the authors evaluated the scuff resistance of surfaces in regular diesel fuel containing 500 ppm sulfur and in Fischer-Tropsch synthetic diesel fuel containing no sulfur or aromatics. Tests were conducted with the high frequency reciprocating test rig (HFRR) using 52100 steel balls and H-13 tool-steel flats with and without Argonne's special carboncoatings. Test results showed that the sulfur-containing fuels provide about 20% higher scuffing resistance than does fuel without sulfur. Use of the carboncoating on the flat increased scuffing resistance in both regular and synthetic fuels by about ten times, as measured by the contact severity index at scuffing. Scuffing failure in tests conducted with coated surfaces did not occur until the coating had been removed by the two distinct mechanisms of spalling and wear.

The technical function of numerous engineering systems - such as vehicles, machines, and instruments - depends on the processes of motion and on the surface systems. Many processes in nature and technology depend on the motion and dynamic behavior of solids, liquids, and gases. Smart surface systems are essential because of the recent technological push toward higher speeds, loads, and operating temperatures; longer life; lighter weight and smaller size (including nanotechnology); and harsh environments in mechanical, mechatronic, and biomechanical systems. If proper attention is not given to surface systems, then vehicles, machines, instruments, and other technical systems could have short lives, consume excessive energy, experience breakdowns, result in liabilities, and fail to accomplish their missions. Surface systems strongly affect our national economy and our lifestyles. At the NASA Glenn Research Center, we believe that proper attention to surface systems, especially in education, research, and application, could lead to economic savings of between 1.3 and 1.6 percent of the gross domestic product. Wear coatings and surface systems continue to experience rapid growth as new coating and surface engineering technologies are discovered, more cost-effective coating and surface engineering solutions are developed, and marketers aggressively pursue, uncover, and exploit new applications for engineered surface systems in cutting tools and wear components. Wear coatings and smart surface systems have been used widely in industrial, consumer, automotive, aerospace, and biomedical applications. This presentation expresses the author's views of and insights into smart surface systems in wear coatings. A revolution is taking place in carbon science and technology. Diamond, an allotrope of carbon, joins graphite, fullerenes, and nanotubes as its major pure carbon structures. It has a unique combination of extreme properties: hardness and abrasion resistance; adhesion

The radiative absorption enhancement of ambient black carbon (BC), by light-refractive coatings of atmospheric aerosols, constitutes a large uncertainty in estimates of climate forcing. The direct measurements of radiative absorption enhancement require the experimentally-removing the coating materials in ambient BC-containing aerosols, which remains a challenge. Here, the absorption enhancement of the BC core by non-absorbing aerosol coatings was quantified using a two-step removal of both inorganic and organic matter coatings of ambient aerosols. The mass absorption cross-section (MAC) of decoated/pure atmospheric BC aerosols of 4.4±0.8m(2)g(-1) was enhanced to 9.6±1.8m(2)g(-1) at 678-nm wavelength for ambiently-coated BC aerosols at a rural Northern China site. The enhancement of MAC (EMAC) rises from 1.4±0.3 in fresh combustion emissions to ~3 for aged ambient China aerosols. The three-week high-intensity campaign observed an average EMAC of 2.25±0.55, and sulfates were primary drivers of the enhanced BC absorption. PMID:26874760

Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) coatings were deposited by several methods (ion beam assisted evaporation, magnetron sputtering, filter cathodic arc, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) onto medical grade ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) discs. The chemical characteristics and mechanical properties of the deposited DLC coatings were studied by Raman spectroscopy and nanoindentation, respectively. In addition, a set of tribological tests was conducted at human body temperature and under bovine serum lubrication against alumina balls. After testing, wear tracks were both visually inspected and documented using confocal microscopy. Visual inspection of the wear tracks confirmed that the DLC coatings were completely removed in all cases, the only exception being the DLC coating prepared by magnetron sputtering with thickness about 0.5 microns. Although this type of DLC coating exhibited the highest friction coefficient, and therefore it suggested a somewhat lower resistance to abrasive/adhesive wear conditions, no evidence of cracking or delamination was observed after the high contact pressure wear testing. This fact points out a good substrate-coating adhesion, and confirms magnetron sputtered DLC as a potential coating for orthopaedic applications.

The process involving the self-regulation of the thickness of a diamond-like film, deposited on the interface between a transparent dielectric substrate (glass, sapphire, quartz) when a liquid aromatic hydrocarbon is heated by the radiation of a copper vapour laser, was observed and investigated. The film thickness reaches 100 nm and ceases to depend on the number of laser pulses, whereas the depth of the ablated region of the substrate, in which the film is deposited, increases monotonically. The self-regulation effect, observed over a wide range of pressures (from 0.08 to 10 bar), is caused both by the heating of the deposited film by the laser radiation to the graphitisation temperature and by its mechanical damage as a consequence of the difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the film and the substrate. The latter has been confirmed with the aid of x-ray Auger spectroscopy, the results of which indicate the formation in the liquid of a nanodisperse suspension of carbon particles with the diamond type of bonding.

Herein a facile hydrothermal approach is used to construct carboncoated TiO2 nanoparticles employing dextrose as the source of carbon. The procedure is operated at a low temperature of 200 °C. Fourier infrared spectroscopy demonstrated the successful coating of carbon on TiO2 nanoparticles. The phase composition of TiO2 and carboncoated TiO2 nanoparticles were studied using X-ray diffraction and the surface morphology was analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The existence of carboncoating on TiO2 nanoparticles was revealed by thermogravimetric analysis through different thermograms exhibited for TiO2 and carboncoated TiO2 nanoparticles. The reported method offers a simple and efficient approach for production of carboncoating TiO2 nanoparticles. PMID:22297036

We have demonstrated a new type of thermionic cathode utilizing carbon nanotubes that exhibited superior electron emission properties. A field enhancement factor as high as 2000 was observed and thermionic electron emission current at least an order of magnitude higher than the emission from a conventional oxide cathode was obtained. This cathode combines the low work function of the oxide coating with a high field enhancement factor introduced by carbon nanotubes and we have demonstrated that it can be used as a highly efficient electron source. The cathode was fabricated by sputter deposition of a thin film of oxide materials on aligned carbon nanotubes, which were grown on a tungsten substrate with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

The combination of thermally sprayed hard coatings with a polymer based top coat leads to multilayered coating systems with tailored functionalities concerning wear resistance, friction, adhesion, wettability or specific electrical properties. The basic concept is to combine the mechanical properties of the hard base coating with the tribological or chemical abilities of the polymer top coat suitable for the respective application. This paper gives an overview of different types of recently developed multilayer coatings and their application in power transmission under dry sliding conditions. State of the art coatings for dry sliding applications in power transmission are mostly based on thin film coatings like diamond-likecarbon or solid lubricants, e.g. MoS2. A new approach is the combination of thin film coatings with combined multilayer coatings. To evaluate the capability of these tribological systems, a multi-stage investigation has been carried out. In the first stage the performance of the sliding lacquers and surface topography of the steel substrate has been evaluated. In the following stage thermally sprayed hard coatings were tested in combination with different sliding lacquers. Wear resistance and friction coefficients of combined coatings were determined using a twin disc test-bed.

SiC-coatedcarbon fibers are prepared at room temperature with different radio-frequency magnetron sputtering powers. Results show that the coatedcarbon fibers have uniform, continuous, and flawless surfaces. The mean strengths of the coatedcarbon fibers with different sputtering powers are not influenced by other factors. Filament strength of SiC-coatedcarbon fibers increases by approximately 2% compared with that of uncoated carbon fibers at a sputtering power of <200 W. The filament strengths of the coated fibers increase by 9.3% and 12% at sputtering powers of 250 and 300 W, respectively. However, the mean strength of the SiC-coatedcarbon fibers decreased by 8% at a sputtering power of 400 W.

Aims To evaluate the use of glucosamine functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (glyco-MWCNTs) for breast cancer targeting. Materials & methods Two types of glucosamine functionalized MWCNTs were developed (covalently linked glucosamine and non-covalently phospholipid-glucosamine coated) and evaluated for their potential to bind and target breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Results & conclusion Binding of glyco-MWCNTs in breast cancer cells is mediated by specific interaction with glucose transporters. Glyco-MWCNTs prepared by non-covalent coating with phospholipid-glucosamine displayed an extended blood circulation time, delayed urinary clearance, low tissue retention and increased breast cancer tumor accumulation in vivo. These studies lay the foundation for development of a cancer diagnostic agent based upon glyco-MWCNTs with the potential for superior accuracy over current radiopharmaceuticals. PMID:26296098

Depositing an ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) protective coating on the surface of the recording heads in magnetic tape drives can improve the tribological problems at the head/tape interface. In this work the effect of pre-treatment of the surface of AlTiC substrate (main bearing surface of head in contact with tape) by C+ ions of moderate energy (smaller than 400 eV) on the structural and tribo-mechanical behaviours of the coated surfaces is studied. Sample preparation consisted of two separate stages of surface pre-treatment and deposition of the protective film, and was done by means of filtered cathodic vacuum arc. Structure of the ta-C film and its interface with the substrate were studied by transmission electron microscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling. The results revealed the formation of a broader, dense atomically mixed layer at the ta-C film-substrate interface of the pre-treated samples comparing with that of the samples without pre-treatment. Chemical characterization of thin diamond-likecarboncoatings was conducted by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the surface pre-treatment was found to have a remarkable effect on increasing the sp3 hybridization fraction in the ta-C overcoat. Nano-tribological properties of the treated surfaces were examined using ball-on-flat wear test at very low load (20 mN). There was a good correlation between the surface and structure characteristics of the film, and the tribological results and the pre-treated surfaces presented a very low coefficient of friction and higher wear life. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of bombardment of the surface with C+ ions of moderate ion energy to improve the structural and tribo-mechanical properties of the protective ta-C films on the magnetic head substrate material.

Research on diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films has been devoted to find both optimized conditions and characteristics of the deposited films on various substrates. In the present work, we investigate the quality of the DLC films grown on stainless steel substrates using different thickness of the nickel nanoparticle layers on the surface. Nickel nanoparticles were sputtered on the stainless steel substrates at 200 °C by a DC-sputtering system to make a good adherence between DLC coating and steel substrates. Atomic Force Microscopy was used to characterize the surface roughness and distribution function of the nickel nanoparticles on the substrate surface. Diamondlikecarbon films were deposited on stainless steel substrates coated by nickel using pure acetylene and C2H2/H2 with 15% flow ratio by DC-Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) systems. Microstructural analysis by Raman spectroscopy showed a low intensity ratio ID/IG for DLC films by increasing the Ni layer thickness on the stainless steel substrates. Fourier Transforms Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) evidenced the peaks attributed to C-H bending and stretching vibration modes in the range of 1300-1700 cm-1 and 2700-3100 cm-1, respectively, in good agreement with the Raman spectroscopy and confirmed the DLC growth in all samples. PMID:24061250

A solvothermal reaction of Zn(ii) salt with methanetetrabenzoic acid (H4MTB) and 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam, CYC) created a new microporous metal-organic framework {[Zn2(μ4-MTB)(κ(4)-CYC)2]·2DMF·7H2O}n (DMF = N,N'-dimethylformamide). Single crystal X-ray diffraction showed that the complex exhibits a four-fold interpenetrated diamond-like structure topology with 1D jar-like channels with sizes about 14.1 × 14.1 and 2.4 × 2.4 Å(2). The stability of the framework and activation conditions of the compound have been studied by high-energy powder X-ray diffraction during in situ heating, thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy performed at different temperatures. The gas adsorption behaviour of {[Zn2(μ4-MTB)(κ(4)-CYC)2]·2DMF·7H2O}n was studied by adsorption of Ar, N2, CO2 and H2. Nitrogen and argon adsorption showed that the activated sample exhibits Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) specific surface areas of 644 m(2) g(-1) (N2) and 562 m(2) g(-1) (Ar). The complex adsorbs carbon dioxide with a maximum storage capacity of 10.5 wt% at 273 K and 101 kPa. The observed hydrogen uptake was 1.27 wt% at 77 K and 800 Torr, which is the highest value reported for the compounds containing a MTB(4-) linker. The adsorption heats of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, calculated according to the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, were in the range 22.8-22.4 kJ mol(-1) for CO2 and 8.9-3.2 kJ mol(-1) for H2, indicating weak interactions of the gases with the framework. PMID:26671614

Efforts are underway to develop inexpensive, low-power electronic sensors, based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), for measuring part-per-million and part-per-billion of selected gases (small molecules) at room temperature. Chemically unmodified SWCNTs are mostly unresponsive to typical gases that one might wish to detect. However, the electrical resistances of SWCNTs can be made to vary with concentrations of gases of interest by coating or doping the SWCNTs with suitable materials. Accordingly, the basic idea of the present development efforts is to incorporate thus-treated SWCNTs into electronic devices that measure their electrical resistances.

In this study we report novel silicon nanowire (SiNW) array structures that have near-unity absorption spectrum. The design of the new SiNW arrays is based on radial diversity of nanowires with periodic diamond-like array (DLA) structures. Different array structures are studied with a focus on two array structures: limited and broad diversity DLA structures. Numerical electromagnetic modeling is used to study the light-array interaction and to compute the optical properties of SiNW arrays. The proposed arrays show superior performance over other types of SiNW arrays. Significant enhancement of the array absorption is achieved over the entire solar spectrum of interest with significant reduction of the amount of material. The arrays show performance independent of angle of incidence up to 70 degrees, and polarization. The proposed arrays achieved ultimate efficiency as high as 39% with filling fraction as low as 19%. PMID:26367679

Sodium orthosilicates Na2MSiO4 (M denotes transition metals) have attracted much attention due to the possibility of exchanging two electrons per formula unit. In this work, we report a group of sodium iron orthosilicates Na2FeSiO4. Their crystal structures are characterized by a diamond-like Fe-Si network. The Fe-Si network is quite robust against the charge/discharge process, which explains the high structural stability observed in experiment. Furthermore, using the density functional theory within the GGA + U framework and X-ray diffraction studies, the crystal structures and structural stabilities during the sodium extraction/re-insertion process are systematically investigated.

We have investigated the electronic structure, phonon modes and electron-phonon coupling to understand superconductivity in the ternary silicide NaAlSi with a layered diamond-like structure. Our electronic results, using the density functional theory within a generalized gradient approximation, indicate that the density of states at the Fermi level is mainly governed by Si p states. The largest contributions to the electron-phonon coupling parameter involve Si-related vibrations both in the x-y plane as well as along the z-axis in the x-z plane. Our results indicate that this material is an s-p electron superconductor with a medium level electron-phonon coupling parameter of 0.68. Using the Allen-Dynes modification of the McMillan formula we obtain the superconducting critical temperature of 6.98 K, in excellent agreement with experimentally determined value of 7 K.

PVD ways of synthesis of hydrogen-free diamond-like films with high speed of a deposition of particles are analyzed. The technique of obtaining of coatings by means of a vacuum - arc discharge and of a plasma-optical filter provide the highest characteristics of -C amorphous diamond. However, the given way of synthesis is unwieldy and requires considerable costs. The capability of creation of the reactor of carbonic plasma in discharge with electron-beam heating of the cathode is consider. The control of power, entered into the graphitic cathode, allows essentially to limit a dispersion of an evaporated material.

Particles of ZnO coated with carbon (ZnOCC) were prepared and evaluated for their antibacterial activity. ZnO powder and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (polymerization degree: 2,000-95,000) were mixed at a mass ratio (ZnO/PVA) of 1, and then heated at 500-650 degree C for 3 h under argon gas with a flow rate of 50ml/min. Carbon deposited on the ZnOCC surface was amorphous as revealed by X-ray diffraction studies. The ZnOCC particles maintained their shape in water, even under agitation. The antibacterial activity of ZnOCC powder against Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated quantitatively by measuring the change in the electrical conductivity of the growth medium caused by bacterial metabolism (conductimetric assay). The conductivity curves obtained were analyzed using the growth inhibition kinetic model proposed by Takahashi for calorimetric evaluation, allowing the estimation of the antibacterial efficacy and kinetic parameters of ZnOCC. In a previous study, when ZnO was immobilized on materials, such as activated carbon, the amount of ZnO immobilized was approximately 10-50%, and the antibacterial activity markedly decreased compared to that of the original ZnO. On the other hand, the ZnOCC particles prepared in this study contained approximately 95% ZnO and possessed antibacterial activity similar to that of pure ZnO. The carbon-coating treatment could maintain the antibacterial efficacy of the ZnO and may be useful in the develop-ment of multifunctional antimicrobial materials. PMID:17408004

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H)/diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings have been achieved on AISI 304 stainless steel (SS) substrates by employing energetic ions emitted from a repetitive plasma focus operated in CH4 discharge. The Raman spectroscopy of the coatings exhibits the evolution of a-C:H/DLC coatings with clearly observed D and G peaks centered about 1320-1360 and 1560-1620 cm-1 respectively. The diamond character of the coatings is influenced by the ion flux and repetition rate of the focus device. The repetitive discharge mode of plasma focus has led to the formation of a-C:H/DLC coatings in short duration of time. The coatings transform from a-C to a-C:H depending upon substrate angular position. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the formation of DLC coating owing to stress-induced restructuring in SS. The estimated crystallite size is found to be ˜40-50 nm. Field emission scanning electron micrographs exhibit a layered granular surface morphology of the coatings. The Vickers surface hardness of the DLC coated SS samples has been significantly improved.

Various aspects of carbon and carbon-coated multistaged depressed collector (MDC) electrode technology are reviewed. The physical properties of untreated graphite electrodes, ion-textured graphite electrodes, and textured, carbon-coated copper electrodes, and surface treatment procedures for these electrodes are described. The secondary electron emissions of the three electrode types are analyzed. MDC fabrication methods are discussed. The performances of MDCs fabricated with untreated graphite electrodes, ion-textured graphite electrodes, and textured, carbon-coated copper electrodes are evaluated. MDC and TWT efficiency levels for tubes fabricated with the three materials are measured.

Annealing of carbon nanotubes coated with thin and uniform TiO{sub 2} results in carbon diffusion into oxygen lattices and doping induced redshift is evident by an efficient photocatalysis at visible light. The underlying mechanism is discussed.

Equipment at the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute intended for the anisotropy determination of pyrolytic carbon layers in coated particles (CPs) of the GT-MGR reactor is tested and calibrated. The dependence of the anisotropy coefficient on the size of the measurement region is investigated. The results of measuring the optical anisotropy factor (OPTAF) for an aluminum mirror, rutile crystal, and available CP samples with the known characteristics measured previously using ORNL equipment (United States) are presented. In addition, measurements of CP samples prepared at VNIINM are performed. A strong dependence of the data on the preparation quality of metallographic sections is found. Our investigations allow us to make the conclusion on the working capacity of the existing equipment for measuring the anisotropy of pyrolytic carbon CP coatings using the equipment at the Kurchatov Institute with the relative error of about 1%. It is shown that the elimination of the errors caused by the stochastic fluctuations in a measuring path by mathematical processing of the signal allows us to decrease the relative error of OPTAF measurements to ∼0.3%.

Equipment at the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute intended for the anisotropy determination of pyrolytic carbon layers in coated particles (CPs) of the GT-MGR reactor is tested and calibrated. The dependence of the anisotropy coefficient on the size of the measurement region is investigated. The results of measuring the optical anisotropy factor (OPTAF) for an aluminum mirror, rutile crystal, and available CP samples with the known characteristics measured previously using ORNL equipment (United States) are presented. In addition, measurements of CP samples prepared at VNIINM are performed. A strong dependence of the data on the preparation quality of metallographic sections is found. Our investigations allow us to make the conclusion on the working capacity of the existing equipment for measuring the anisotropy of pyrolytic carbon CP coatings using the equipment at the Kurchatov Institute with the relative error of about 1%. It is shown that the elimination of the errors caused by the stochastic fluctuations in a measuring path by mathematical processing of the signal allows us to decrease the relative error of OPTAF measurements to ~0.3%.

State-of-the-art non-thrombogenic blood contacting surfaces are based on heparin and struggle with the problem of bleeding. However, appropriate blood flow characteristics are essential for clinical application. Thus, there is increasing demand to develop new coating materials for improved human body acceptance. Materials deposited by vacuum coating techniques would be an excellent alternative if the coating temperatures can be kept low because of the applied substrate materials of low temperature resistance (polymers). Most of the recently used plasma-based deposition techniques cannot fulfill this demand. However, adequate film structure and high adhesion can be reached by the pulsed laser deposition at room temperature, which was developed to an industrial-scaled process at Laser Center Leoben. Here, this process is described in detail and the resulting structural film properties are shown for titanium, titanium nitride, titanium carbonitride, and diamond-likecarbon on polyurethane, titanium and silicon substrates. Additionally, we present the biological response of blood cells and the kinetic mechanism of eukaryote cell attachment. In conclusion, high biological acceptance and distinct differences for the critical delamination shear stress were found for the coatings, indicating higher adhesion at higher carbon contents. PMID:20128746

Cordierite foams were prepared by replication of polyurethane foams and were coated with three types of carbon xerogels. The dip coating and synthesis conditions were optimized, and the coated foams were characterized exhaustively. The composition of the starting solution, coat loading, and carbonization temperature are the most important parameters determining both textural and mechanical properties. Carbon xerogel coatings obtained from aqueous solutions of resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) are macro-, meso-, and microporous but present the greatest shrinkage, which causes a loss of adhesion between ceramic foams and carboncoatings. The coatings from polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) and RF-poly(vinyl butyral) (Butvar) resin are highly microporous and present very good adhesion even after carbonization. In all cases, coatings induce the improvement of the mechanical properties, which is related to the fact that the coating fills the defects present in the cordierite foams, thereby affecting both the rigidity and the way cracks propagate through the coated samples. These materials, due to the synergetic role of the highly porous coatings and the tortuous channels of the ceramic foams, are suitable materials for adsorption or catalytic treatments of fluids. PMID:18290682

Trace elements substituted apatite coatings have received a lot of interest recently as they have many benefits. In this work, strontium and magnesium substituted DCPD (SM-DCPD) coatings were deposited on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by pulsed electrodeposition method. The morphology, microstructure, corrosion resistance and in vitro bioactivity of the SM-DCPD coatings are analyzed. The results show that the SM-DCPD coatings exhibit a flake-like morphology with dense and uniform structure. The SM-DCPD coatings could induce the formation of apatite layers on their surface in simulated body fluid. The electrochemical test indicates that the SM-DCPD coatings can evidently decrease the corrosion rate of the C/C composites in simulated body fluid. The SM-DCPD has potential application as the bioactive coatings.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), nano-graphene platelets (NGPs), and superfine powdered activated carbon (S-PAC) were comparatively evaluated for their applicability as adsorptive coatings on microfiltration membranes. The objective was to determine which materials were capable of contaminant removal while causing minimal flux reduction. Methylene blue and atrazine were the model contaminants. When applied as membrane coatings, MWCNTs had minimal retention capabilities for the model contaminants, and S-PAC had the fastest removal. The membrane coating approach was also compared with a stirred vessel configuration, in which the adsorbent was added to a stirred flask preceding the membrane cell. Direct application of the adsorbent to the membrane constituted a greater initial reduction in permeate concentrations of the model contaminants than with the stirred flask setup. All adsorbents except S-PAC showed flux reductions less than 5% after application as thin-layer membrane coatings, and flux recovery after membrane backwashing was greater than 90% for all materials and masses tested. PMID:23911830

Arc spraying of nano-structured wire (TAFA 95MX) onto carbon steel is carried out. The workpieces coated were heat treated at temperature similar to the operating temperature of the hot-path components of power gas turbines. The morphological and microstructural changes in the coating are examined using optical and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The surface roughness and microhardness of the resulting coatings are measured. It is found that the formation of dimples like structure at surface increased the surface roughness of the coating. The microhardness of the resulting coating is significantly higher than the base material hardness. Heat treatment does not alter the microstructure and microhardness of the coating.

Nanoindentation and nanoscratching experiments have been performed to assess the mechanical properties of several carbon thin films with potential application as wear resistant coatings for magnetic disks. These include three hydrogenated-carbon films prepared by sputter deposition in a H{sub 2}/Ar gas mixture (hydrogen contents of 20, 34, and 40 atomic %) and a pure carbon film prepared by cathodic-arc plasma techniques. Each film was deposited on a silicon substrate to thickness of about 300 run. The hardness and elastic modulus were measured using nanoindentation methods, and ultra-low load scratch tests were used to assess the scratch resistance of the films and measure friction coefficients. Results show that the hardness, elastic modulus, and scratch resistance of the 20 and 34% hydrogenated films are significantly greater than the 40% film, thereby showing that there is a limit to the amount of hydrogen producing beneficial effects. The cathodic-arc film, with a hardness of greater than 59 GPa, is considerably harder than any of the hydrogenated films and has a superior scratch resistance.

Nanoparticles addition is widely studied to improve properties of carbon fiber reinforced composites. Here, hybrid carbon fiber results from grafting of carbon nanotubes (CNT) by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on the carbon fiber for mechanical reinforcement and conductive properties. Both tows and woven fabrics made of the hybrid fibers are added to the matrix for composite processing. However handling hybrid fibers may induce unwilling health risk due to eventual CNT release and a protective layer is required. A thin coating layer is deposited homogeneously by low pressure plasma polymerization of an organic monomer without modifying the morphology and the organization of grafted CNTs. The polymeric layer effect on the electrical behavior of hybrid fiber is assessed by conductivity measurements. Its influence on the mechanical properties is also studied regarding the interface adhesion between fiber and matrix. The protective role of layer is demonstrated by means of friction constraints applied to the hybrid fiber.

We have demonstrated that fiber Bragg gratings can be written through the carbon layer of carbon-coated optical fibers having different coating thicknesses. Specifically, grating index modulation amplitudes of ~2.5x10-5 and 0.52x10-5 were obtained in optical fibers having carbon layers 29 nm and 56 nm thick, respectively, without any extra photosensitization of the fibers. Subsequent experimental results showed that the carboncoatings in the grating areas didn't change their hermetic properties. Finally, we describe the advantages of these gratings and their potential applications in fiber optic sensing.

Ionic liquid/carbon nanotube based actuators have been constantly improved in recent years owing to their suitability for applications related to human-machine interaction and robotics thanks to their light-weight and low voltage operation. However, while great attention has been paid to the development of better electrodes and electrolytes, no adequate efforts were made to develop actuators to be used in direct contact with the human skin. Herein, we present our approach, based on the use of parylene-C coating. Indeed, owning to its physicochemical properties such as high dielectric strength, resistance to solvents, biological and chemical inactivity/inertness, parylene fulfils the requirements for use in biocompatible actuator fabrication. In this paper, we study the influence of the parylene coating on the actuator performance. To do so, we analyzed its mechanical and electrochemical properties. We looked into the role of parylene as a protection layer that can prevent alteration of the actuator performance likely caused by external conditions. In order to complete our study, we designed a haptic device and investigated the generated force, displacement and energy usage.

Methods for using modified single wall carbon nanotubes ("SWCNTs") to detect presence and/or concentration of a gas component, such as a halogen (e.g., Cl.sub.2), hydrogen halides (e.g., HCl), a hydrocarbon (e.g., C.sub.nH.sub.2n+2), an alcohol, an aldehyde or a ketone, to which an unmodified SWCNT is substantially non-reactive. In a first embodiment, a connected network of SWCNTs is coated with a selected polymer, such as chlorosulfonated polyethylene, hydroxypropyl cellulose, polystyrene and/or polyvinylalcohol, and change in an electrical parameter or response value (e.g., conductance, current, voltage difference or resistance) of the coated versus uncoated SWCNT networks is analyzed. In a second embodiment, the network is doped with a transition element, such as Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ru, Os and/or Au, and change in an electrical parameter value is again analyzed. The parameter change value depends monotonically, not necessarily linearly, upon concentration of the gas component. Two general algorithms are presented for estimating concentration value(s), or upper or lower concentration bounds on such values, from measured differences of response values.

Anatase titania nanorods/nanowires, and TiO2(B) are synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction of commercial TiO2 (P-25) in strong alkaline environment. Surfaces of these products are modified by carbon to improve the electrical conductivity through carbonization of pitch as the carbon source at 700 °C for 2 h in an Ar atmosphere. Even after carboncoating, the resultants exhibit the same crystal structure and morphology as confirmed by Rietveld refinement of x-ray diffraction data and transmission electron microscopic observation that the images display thin carboncoating layers on the surfaces of anatase nanorods and nanowires. Although the bare and carbon-coated anatase TiO2 nanorods exhibit stable cycling performance, the high rate performance is highly dependent on the presence of carbon because of high electrical conductivity, ∼10-1 S cm-1, enabling Li+ ion storage even at 30 °C (9.9 A g-1) approximately 100 mAh (g-TiO2)-1 for the carbon-coated anatase TiO2 nanorods. Besides, the bare and carbon-coated anatase TiO2 nanowires show poor electrode performances due to their large particle size and high crystallinity causing Li+ insertion into the host structure difficult. It is believed that the conducting carboncoating layers greatly improves the electrochemical property through the improved electrical conductivity and shortened diffusion path.

There is increasing demand to functionalize meso- and nanoporous materials by coating and make the porous substrate biocompatible or environmentally friendly. However, coating on a meso-porous substrate poses great challenges, especially if the pore aspect ratio is high. We adopted the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method to coat Ni3Al-based meso-porous membranes, which were fabricated from a single-crystal Ni-based superalloy by a unique selective phase dissolution technique. These membranes were about 250 µm thick and had channel-like pores (~200 nm wide) with very high aspect ratio. Two different coating materials, i.e. diamond-likecarbon (DLC) and titanium, were used to coat these membranes. High energy C or Ti ions, produced in the plasma plume by the PLD process, penetrated the channel-like pores and deposited coatings on the pore walls deep inside the membrane. The thickness and the quality of coatings on the pore walls were examined using the dual-beam system. The coating thickness, of the order of 50 nm, was adherent to the pore walls and was quite uniform at different depths. The carbon and the Ti deposition behaved quite similarly. The preliminary experiments showed that the PLD is an adequate method for coating fine open cavities of complex geometry. Simulations based on stopping and the range of ions in matter (SRIM) calculations helped in understanding the deposition processes on pore walls at great depths.

A method is described for coating a carbon bodywith molybdenum carbide in such a manner that the carbon body is rendered less permeable to the flow of gases and has increased resistance to corrosion and erosion. The method includes coating a carbon body with molybdenum trioxide by contacting it at a temperature below the condensation temperature with molybdenum trioxide vapors and thereafter carburizing the molybdenum trioxide in situ in an inert atmosphere on the carhon body. (AEC)

adhesion and durability in the environment. Though these coatings are efficient in protecting polymer composites, their application imposes severe constraints. Their thermal expansion coefficients may differ markedly from those of polymer composite substrates: as a result, cracks develop in the coatings on thermal cycling and AO can penetrate through them to the substrate. In addition to the technicalities of forming an effective barrier, such factors as cost, convenience of application and ease of repair are important considerations in the selection of a coating for a particular application. The latter issues drive the aerospace research toward the development of novel light composite materials, like the so called polymer nanocomposites, which are materials with a polymer matrix and a filler with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers. Current interest in nanocomposites has been generated and maintained because nanoparticle-filled polymers exhibit unique combinations of properties not achievable with traditional composites. These combinations of properties can be achieved because of the small size of the fillers, the large surface area the fillers provide, and in many cases the unique properties of the fillers themselves. In particular, the carbon fiber-based polymeric composite materials are the basic point of interest: the aim of the present study is to find new solution to produce carbon fiber-based composites with even more upgraded performances. One intriguing strategy to tackle such an issue has been picked out in the coupling between the carbon fibers and the carbon nanostructures. That for two main reasons: first, carbon nanostructures have shown fancy potentialities for any kind of technological applications since their discovery, second, the chemical affinity between fiber and nanostructure (made of the same element) should be a likely route to approach the typical problems due to thermo-mechanical compatibility. This work is joined in such framework

The processing and oxidation resistance of fused Al-Si and Ni-Si slurry coatings on ATJ graphite was studied. Ni-Si coatings in the 70 to 90 percent Si range were successfully processed to melt, wet, and bond to the graphite. The molten coatings also infiltrated the porosity in graphite and reacted with it to form SiC in the coating. Cyclic oxidation at 1200 C showed that these coatings were not totally protective because of local attack of the substrate, due to the extreme thinness of the coatings in combination with coating cracks.

Infrared transparent amorphous hydrogenated alloys of germanium and carbon (germanium carbide) have been deposited by plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition (PACVD) using germane (GeH4 ) and butane (C 4Hid as the feedstocks and by reactive sputtering of germanium with a CH1g-Ar plasma. The effects of varying various deposition conditions have been assessed on a number of coating properties . Germanium Carbide has good environmental durability and can be deposited in thick layers. Using PACVD it can be deposited with any refractive index in the range 2 to 4 while the sputtering process is limited to indices in the range 3 to 4 . One advantage of the sputtering process is the high deposition rates achievable which can be up to '-lOum/h compared with lum/h for the PACVD process. When used in conjunction with "diamond-like" carbon (a-'C:H) , germanium carbide offers the prospect of rnultilayer antireflection coatings for 8 to 12 urn optics with durabilities which hitherto have been impossible to achieve. Antireflection coatings for zinc sulphide windows which are subject to hostile environmental conditions have been investigated and the performance of the coatings is presented. The factors affecting the practical realisation of these coatings on a production scale are discussed.

The indentation load-displacement behavior of three material systems tested with a Berkovich indenter has been examined. The materials studied were the substrate materials--silicon and polycarbonate, and the coating/substrate systems--diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coating on silicon, and DLC coating on polycarbonate. They represent three material systems, namely, bulk, soft-coating/hard-substrate, and hard-coating on soft-substrate. Delaminations in the soft-coating/hard-substrate (DLC/Si) system and cracking in the hard-coating/soft-substrate system (DLC/Polycarbonate) were observed. Parallel to the experimental work, an elastic analytical effort has been made to examine the influence of the film thickness and the properties of the coating/substrate systems. Comparisons between the experimental data and analytical solutions of the load-displacement curves during unloading show good agreement. The analytical solution also suggests that the Young`s modulus and hardness of the thin film can not be measured accurately using Sneddon`s solution for bulk materials when the thickness of the film is comparable to the loading contact radius of the indenter. The elastic stress field analysis provides a basis for understanding the experimentally observed delaminations and cracking of the coating/substrate systems.

In this study, Fe3O4/carbon-coated Si ternary hybrid composites were fabricated. A carbon layer was directly formed on the surface of Si by the thermal vapor deposition. The carbon-coating layer not only prevented the contact between Si and reactive electrolyte but also provided anchoring sites for the deposition of Fe3O4. Fe3O4 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of carbon-coated Si by the hydrazine reducing method. The morphology and structure of Fe3O4 and carbon layer were characterized via X-ray diffractometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy, field emission transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses. These characterizations indicate that a carbon layer was fully coated on the Si particles, and Fe3O4 particles were homogeneously deposited on the carbon-coated Si particles. The Fe3O4/carbon-coated Si electrode exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance, attributed to the high conductivity and stability of carbon layer and pseudocapacitive reaction of Fe3O4. The proposed ternary-hybrid composites may be potentially useful for the fabrication of high-performance electrodes.

Formation of ordered (microphase separated) block copolymer nanostructures is a promising route towards creating isoporous membranes suitable for technological applications. We propose a new route to achieve this target: to choose such block copolymer architectures, which would provide a practically isotropic permeability both in the bulk and in thin films. Basing both on the weak segregation theory extension into the thin films and the self-consistent field theory numerical procedure we present the results concerning the effects of the wall confinement both with neutral, selective and patterned walls on the structure and stability of the block copolymer ordered films. The diamond-like morphology is found to be the most promising one as to optimizing the permeability of thin films. A new effect of the diamond morphology stability enhancement in the presence of a properly designed lamellar-like wall pattern is discovered and the corresponding phase diagram demonstrating the effect of the pattern scale and film width on the diamond morphology stability is presented. The financial support was provided by Ministry of Science and Education of Russian Federation (State Contract No. 02.740.11.0858) and European Commission (FP7 project NMP3-SL-2009- 228652 (SELFMEM)).

Combustion of kerosene inside porous inert medium (PIM) has been investigated with the goal of reducing the emissions of nitric oxides (NO{sub x}), carbon monoxide (CO) and soot. Silicon-carbide (SiC) coatedcarbon foam is used as PIM to attain high structural strength. The two-zone porous burner design consists of preheat and combustion sections. Different PIM configurations were tested by stacking together square porous pieces of 2.5 cm thickness. Two types of fuel injectors are considered: (i) in the air-assist injector, approximately 5% of the combustion air is used for atomization and the remaining air enters as the primary co-flow around the injector, and (ii) in the swirling-air injector, all of the combustion air enters the injector to create a swirling flow around the fuel jet to enhance atomization and fuel-air premixing. The distance between the injector and PIM inlet is a key operational parameter, which was varied in experiments with both injectors over a range of equivalence ratios and heat release rates. The NO{sub x} and CO emissions were measured to optimize the PIM configuration with minimum emissions. Results show stable combustion over a wide operating range. Three combustor operational regimes are identified depending upon the injector location. (author)

Carbon nanotubes used as conductive atomic force microscopy probes are expected to withstand extremely high currents. However, in existing prototypes, significant self-heating results in rapid degradation of the nanotube probe. Here, we investigate an alternative probe design, fabricated by dielectric encapsulation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which can support unexpectedly high currents with extreme stability. We show that the dielectric coating acts as a reservoir for Joule heat removal, and as a chemical barrier against thermal oxidation, greatly enhancing transport properties. In contact with Au surfaces, these probes can carry currents of 0.12 mA at a power of 1.5 mW and show no measurable change in resistance at current densities of 10(12) A/m(2) over a time scale of 10(3) s. Our observations are in good agreement with theoretical modeling and exact numerical calculations, demonstrating that the enhanced transport characteristics of such probes are governed by their more effective heat removal mechanisms. PMID:23978224

This report summarizes the work completed under DOE's Support of Advanced Fuel Research program, Contract No. DE-FG26-99FT40681. The contract period was October 2000 through September 2002. This R&D program investigated the modification of the mechanical strength of catalyst extrudates using Hydrocarbon Technologies, Inc. (HTI) carbon-coated catalyst technology so that the ebullated bed technology can be utilized to produce valuable oxygenated chemicals from syngas/CO{sub 2} efficiently and economically. Exothermic chemical reactions benefit from the temperature control and freedom from catalyst fouling provided by the ebullated bed reactor technology. The carbon-coated extrudates prepared using these procedures had sufficient attrition resistance and surface area for use in ebullated bed operation. The low cost of carboncoating makes the carbon-coated catalysts highly competitive in the market of catalyst extrudates.

To improve the oxidation resistance of the SiC-MoSi2 coating prepared by two-step pack cementation, a liquid Si infiltrating method was adopted to modify it. The phase composition and microstructure of the coatings were analyzed by XRD and SEM. The results show that the size and number of the cracks in the modified coating decreased evidently after infiltrating Si. The oxidation test results in air at 1773 K show that the mass loss of the SiC-MoSi2 coatingcoatedcarbon/carbon (C/C) composites was up to 1.18% after oxidation for 206 h, while that of the modified coatingcoated C/C composites was only 0.77% after oxidation for 460 h. The reason is that the cracks formed in the pack cementation process were partly sealed and there were no penetrable cracks in the modified coating. Therefore, there were no direct channels for the oxygen to diffuse into the C/C substrate.

An improved coating of gasification catalyst for carbon-graphite fibers is provided comprising a mixture of a polyvalent metal such as calcium and a monovalent metal such as lithium. The addition of lithium provides a lighter coating and a more flexible coating when applied to a coating of a carboxyl containing resin such as polyacrylic acid since it reduces the crosslink density. Furthermore, the presence of lithium provides a glass-like substance during combustion which holds the fiber together resulting in slow, even combustion with much reduced evolution of conductive fragments. The coated fibers are utilized as fiber reinforcement for composites.

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) is widely used because of its good properties. However, the color of DLC is usually dark brown or black. Recently, we have made fairly transparent Si contained DLC (Si-DLC) coatings in visible light region. The fairly transparent Si-DLC was made by using our original bi-polar pulse type plasma based ion implantation (PBII) system, with recently introduced high slew rate pulse power supply. The colors of metal sample surface were uniformly changed as subdued red, yellow, subdued green and subdued blue or violet, with the change of Si-DLC coating's thickness. The colors come from the interference between reflected lights at the surface of the Si-DLC coatings and the surface of the metal samples. The colors were also changed with the angle of glancing. Estimated refractive indexes show well agreements among almost all Si-DLC coatings, instead of the differences of coating conditions. Generally, the longer coating time or slower coating process makes the higher refractive index in near infrared region. Estimated band gap of a Si-DLC coating was about 1.5 eV. The developed Si-DLC coatings must be useful as not only protective but also decorative coatings.

adhesion and durability in the environment. Though these coatings are efficient in protecting polymer composites, their application imposes severe constraints. Their thermal expansion coefficients may differ markedly from those of polymer composite substrates: as a result, cracks develop in the coatings on thermal cycling and AO can penetrate through them to the substrate. In addition to the technicalities of forming an effective barrier, such factors as cost, convenience of application and ease of repair are important considerations in the selection of a coating for a particular application. The latter issues drive the aerospace research toward the development of novel light composite materials, like the so called polymer nanocomposites, which are materials with a polymer matrix and a filler with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers. Current interest in nanocomposites has been generated and maintained because nanoparticle-filled polymers exhibit unique combinations of properties not achievable with traditional composites. These combinations of properties can be achieved because of the small size of the fillers, the large surface area the fillers provide, and in many cases the unique properties of the fillers themselves. In particular, the carbon fiber-based polymeric composite materials are the basic point of interest: the aim of the present study is to find new solution to produce carbon fiber-based composites with even more upgraded performances. One intriguing strategy to tackle such an issue has been picked out in the coupling between the carbon fibers and the carbon nanostructures. That for two main reasons: first, carbon nanostructures have shown fancy potentialities for any kind of technological applications since their discovery, second, the chemical affinity between fiber and nanostructure (made of the same element) should be a likely route to approach the typical problems due to thermo-mechanical compatibility. This work is joined in such framework

Coated, reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) is used for the leading edges of the space shuttle. The mass loss characteristics of RCC specimens coated with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) were determine for conditions which simulated the environment expected at the lug attachment area of the leading edge. Mission simulation included simultaneous application of load, temperature, and oxygen partial pressure. Maximum specimen temperature was 900 K (1160 F). Specimens were exposed for up to 80 simulated missions. Stress levels up to 6.8 MPa (980 psi) did not significantly affect the mass loss characteristics of the TEOS-coated RCC material. Mass loss was correlated with the bulk density of the specimens.

The distribution of solar-wind ions in Genesis mission collectors, as determined by depth profiling analysis, constrains the physics of ion solid interactions involving the solar wind. Thus, they provide an experimental basis for revealing ancient solar activities represented by solar-wind implants in natural samples. We measured the first depth profile of ⁴He in a collector; the shallow implantation (peaking at <20 nm) required us to use sputtered neutral mass spectrometry with post-photoionization by a strong field. The solar wind He fluence calculated using depth profiling is ~8.5 x 10¹⁴ cm⁻². The shape of the solar wind ⁴He depth profile is consistent with TRIM simulations using the observed ⁴He velocity distribution during the Genesis mission. It is therefore likely that all solar-wind elements heavier than H are completely intact in this Genesis collector and, consequently, the solar particle energy distributions for each element can be calculated from their depth profiles. Ancient solar activities and space weathering of solar system objects could be quantitatively reproduced by solar particle implantation profiles.

The understanding of tribo- and electro-chemical phenomenons on the molecular level at a sliding interface is a field of growing interest. Fundamental chemical and physical insights of sliding surfaces are crucial for understanding wear at an interface, particularly for nano or micro scale devices operating at high sliding speeds. A complete investigation of the electrochemical effects on high sliding speed interfaces requires a precise monitoring of both the associated wear and surface chemical reactions at the interface. Here, we demonstrate that head-disk interface inside a commercial magnetic storage hard disk drive provides a unique system for such studies. The results obtained shows that the voltage assisted electrochemical wear lead to asymmetric wear on either side of sliding interface. PMID:27150446

A one-dimensional (1D) model for a methane rf plasma consisting of 20 species (neutrals, radicals, ions, and electrons) is presented. The equations solved are the particle balances, assuming a drift-diffusion approximation for the fluxes, and the electron energy balance equation. The self-consistent electric field is obtained from the simultaneous solution of Poisson's equation. The electron-neutral collision rates are expressed as a function of the average electron energy. These expressions are obtained from the solution of the Boltzmann equation using the Lorentz approximation. The results presented in this article are limited to the alpha regime, hence no secondary electrons are considered. In total, 27 electron reactions (vibrational excitation, dissociation, and ionization) have been included in the model, as well as seven ion-neutral reactions and 12 neutral-neutral reactions. The 1D fluid model yields, among others, information about the densities of the different species in the plasma. It is found that in a methane plasma C2H6, C3H8, C2H4, and C2H2 are also present at high densities, together with CH4 and H2 (inlet gases). The main radical in the plasma is CH3. At low pressure (e.g., 0.14 Torr) the most important ion is found to be CH5+, at higher pressure (e.g., 0.5 Torr) C2H5+ becomes the dominant ion.

DLC thin films were fabricated under high vacuum and ultra-high vacuum conditions using Type II UBM sputtering with a graphite target. Ultra-high purity argon sputtering gas at nominally 2.8 - 3.0 mtorr was used as a working gas during deposition. Film thickness and elemental composition was determined through a combination of Rutherford Backscattering and Forward Recoil Elastic Scattering spectroscopy at Ohio University using the 4.5 MV tandem particle accelerator at Edwards Accelerator Laboratory. Electronic characterization of the films consisted of measurements of room and low temperature current-voltage curves, temperature dependent conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and the temperature dependent Seebeck coefficient. Hydrogen concentration profiles of the films indicated a three layer structure: surface, bulk, and interface. Total hydrogen concentration in the film was reduced to ≈3 at.% for the films with lowest hydrogen content. This low-level of hydrogen content was achieved through UHV base chamber pressure, pre-sputtering of the graphite target, and the use of a hydrogen filter on the UHP argon supply line. The films exhibited linear current-voltage relations in both high and low temperature regimes. A thermally assisted conduction relationship in temperature dependent conductivity was observed. Nominal film conductivity was measured to be ≈2 - 3 S/cm.. Measurements of the Seebeck coefficient indicated a p-type material with values of the coefficient ≈10 muV/K. The Seebeck coefficient was found to have a weak linear dependence on temperature indicative of a diffusive thermopower relationship. Measurements of the electronic properties as a function of hydrogen concentration indicated at most a weak relationship over the range of the low hydrogen concentrations in this work.

The understanding of tribo- and electro-chemical phenomenons on the molecular level at a sliding interface is a field of growing interest. Fundamental chemical and physical insights of sliding surfaces are crucial for understanding wear at an interface, particularly for nano or micro scale devices operating at high sliding speeds. A complete investigation of the electrochemical effects on high sliding speed interfaces requires a precise monitoring of both the associated wear and surface chemical reactions at the interface. Here, we demonstrate that head-disk interface inside a commercial magnetic storage hard disk drive provides a unique system for such studies. The results obtained shows that the voltage assisted electrochemical wear lead to asymmetric wear on either side of sliding interface. PMID:27150446

The understanding of tribo- and electro-chemical phenomenons on the molecular level at a sliding interface is a field of growing interest. Fundamental chemical and physical insights of sliding surfaces are crucial for understanding wear at an interface, particularly for nano or micro scale devices operating at high sliding speeds. A complete investigation of the electrochemical effects on high sliding speed interfaces requires a precise monitoring of both the associated wear and surface chemical reactions at the interface. Here, we demonstrate that head-disk interface inside a commercial magnetic storage hard disk drive provides a unique system for such studies. The results obtained shows that the voltage assisted electrochemical wear lead to asymmetric wear on either side of sliding interface.

In this study, the mechanical, tribological, and corrosion properties of annealed diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on M2 steel with various annealing temperatures were investigated. The results indicated that DLC coating on M2 steel annealed at 500 °C had the worst performance. Both corrosion polarization resistance and wear resistance against ceramic alumina counterface of DLC coatings decreased with increasing annealing temperature, which can be due to the decline of the coating hardness after the thermal treatment. When sliding against aluminum counterface material, the DLC annealed at 600 °C had the lowest coefficient of friction (cof) and wear resistance due to its high graphitic structure and low hardness. Compared with the original coating, cofs increased for coatings treated at below 300 °C; however, further increasing the annealing temperature led to the decrease of the cofs. Little material attachment occurred between DLC coatings (original and annealed) and counterface materials (both alumina and aluminum balls) except for the DLC annealed at 600 °C, in which coating material transferred to the surface of counterface ball.

Coating of h-BN onto carbon nanotubes induces polarization at interfaces, and charges become localized at N and C atoms. Field emission of coated tubes is found to be highly stable, and current density fluctuates within 4%. Study further reveals that the electric field established between coatings and tubes facilitates charge transfer across interfaces and electrons are emitted through occupied and unoccupied bands of N and B atoms. PMID:26070100

Hot dip aluminizing is one of the most effective methods of surface protection for steels and is gradually gaining popularity. The morphology and microstructure of an inter-metallic layer form on the surface of low carbon steel by hot dip aluminization treatment had been studied in detail. This effect has been investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The result shows that the reaction between the steel and the molten aluminium leads to the formation of Fe–Al inter-metallic compounds on the steel surface. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic studies showed that a two layer coating was formed consisting of an external Al layer and a (Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5}) inter metallic on top of the substrate after hot dip aluminizing process. The inter-metallic layer is ‘thick’ and exhibits a finger-like growth into the steel. Microhardness testing shown that the intermetallic layer has high hardness followed by steel substrate and the lowest hardness was Al layer.

Fe and Ni magnetic nanoparticles coated by carbon were synthesized between the Fe-Fe and Ni-Ni metal electrodes, submerged in ethanol using pulsed plasma in a liquid method. Iron coatedcarbon (Fe@C) nanoparticles have an average size of 32 nm, and Ni@C nanoparticles are 40 nm. Obtained samples exhibit a well-defined crystalline structure of the inner Fe and Ni cores, encapsulated in the graphitic carboncoatings. Cytotoxicity studies performed on the MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell line showed small toxicity about 88-74% at 50 µg/mL of Fe@C and Ni@C nanoparticles, which can be significant criteria for use them in medical cancer treatment. In addition, appropriate sizes, good magnetic properties and well-organized graphitic carboncoatings are highlight merits of Fe@C and Ni@C nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed plasma.

Tungsten substrates were coated with an Ni or Ni-Co catalyst by the electroless dip coating technique. Various carbon nanotubes were synthesized by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method under different growth conditions. It was observed that Ni-and Ni-Co-coated tungsten substrates give very good growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in terms of yield, uniformity and alignment at a growth temperature of 600 degrees C. We fabricated a field-emission-based luminescent light bulb where a tungsten wire coated with carbon nanotubes served as a cathode. Results show lower threshold voltage, better emission stability and higher luminescence for CNT cathodes in comparison with uncoated tungsten cathodes. We found that aligned-coiled carbon nanotubes are superior to straight CNTs in terms of field emission characteristics and luminescence properties. PMID:20057034

This project explores the behavior of calcium carbonate grain coatings, including how they form and dissolve, their reactivity toward key Hanford contaminants, their impact (as surface coatings) on the reactivity of other mineral substrates, and on their in-ground composition and...

The primary objective of this project is to investigate the role of calcium carbonate grain coatings on adsorption and heterogeneous reduction reactions of key chemical and radioactive contaminants in sediments on the Hanford Site. Research will ascertain whether these coatings p...

Optically transparent and electrically conductive single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin films were fabricated at room temperature using a dip-coating technique. The film transparency and sheet resistance can be easily tailored by controlling the number of coatings. Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) was used as an adhesion promoter and, together with surfactant Triton X-100, greatly improved the SWNTs coating. Only five coats were required to obtain a sheet resistance of 2.05 [Formula: see text] and film transparency of 84 %T. The dip-coated film after post-deposition treatment with nitric acid has a sheet resistance as low as 130 [Formula: see text] at 69 %T. This technique is suitable for large-scale SWNT coating at room temperature and can be used on different types of substrates such as glass and plastics. This paper will discuss the role of the adhesion promoter and surfactant in the coating process. PMID:21825746

S>This patent relates to a carbide-nitride-carbide coating for carbon bodies that are to be subjected to a high temperature nuclear reactor atmosphere, and a method of applying the same. This coating is a highly efficient diffusion barrier and protects the C body from corrosion and erosion by the reactor atmosphere. Preferably, the innermost coating is Zr carbide, the middle coatlng is Zr nitride, and the outermost coating is a mixture of Zr and Nb carbide. The nitride coating acts as a diffusion barrier, while the innermost carbide bonds the nitride to the C body and prevents deleterious reaction between the nitride and C body. The outermost carbide coating protects the nitride coating from the reactor atmosphere. (AEC)

Poor wear resistance of rare earth magnesium alloys has prevented them from wider application. In this study, composite coating (PVD carboncoating deposited on electroless plating nickel interlayer) is prepared to protect GW83 magnesium alloys against wear. The Ni + C composite coating has a dense microstructure, improved adhesion strength and hardness due to the effective support of Ni interlayer. The wear test result shows that the Ni + C composite coating can greatly prolong the wear life of the magnesium alloy. The wear track of the Ni + C coated magnesium alloy is obviously narrower and shows less abrasive particles as compared with the bare one. Abrasive wear is the wear mechanism of the coatings at the room temperature. In conclusion, the wear resistance of the GW83 magnesium alloy can be greatly improved by the Ni + C composite coating.

Carbon-coated GaN hollow nanospindles with uniform morphology and good structural stability are facilely prepared by nitridizing solid carbon-coated GaOOH nanospindles in an ammonia atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h. The carbon nanocoating acts as a nanoreactor which not only preserves the spindle-like morphology, but also prevents the growth of GaN particles during the thermal treatment. The significant advantage is that the hollow nanostructures so obtained exhibit superior resistance to distortion, collapse, and shrinkage. PMID:24496107

Diamond-likecarbon (DLC) films, hard carboncoatings, with unique physical and mechanical properties which approach those of natural diamond, such as high hardness, low coefficient of friction and chemical inertness. In several applications, heavy loads and high friction forces are generated and lead to local temperature increase. In such cases these coatings must be thermal stable and with enhanced high temperature oxidation resistance in order to be good candidates for wear protection of metallic components. In the present study a radio frequency plasma deposition system was used for the deposition of 2 μm-thick amorphous DLC coatings onto AISI D2 substrates. The as deposited DLC covered samples were dense, homogeneous and well bonded to the substrate, while no cracks were observed. In order to study the thermal stability of the coatings' DLC nature, in-situ Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) observations were carried out during slow annealing of the specimen in the microscope vacuum chamber, as well as thermo-gravimetric (TG) measurements in argon atmosphere, up to 800° C. The first crystallites appeared within the DLC amorphous matrix at about 450° C as surface crystallization, while the mass crystallization started at 600° C as the TG measurements indicated. Finally, the nucleation was completed at 700° C. The oxidation results, performed from ambient temperature up to 1000° C, showed that DLC covered coupons are remarkably resistant as their mass gain was significantly lower than that of the uncovered substrates.

Results of the study of carbon material (CM) discovered in kimberlite-like rocks of the Charteskii Complex (Subpolar Urals) are considered. It is shown that CM is represented by partially oxidized graphite and optically transparent amorphous CM (presumably diamond-likecarbon). The data obtained are important for estimation of the diamond potential of this object, as well as for understanding of the new mechanism of the formation of diamond-likecarbon and diamond.

Erosion tests were conducted on coated graphite and 2D, 3D carbon- carbons in 1 atm hydrogen at high temperatures. Refractory NbC, TaC coatings were used. It was found that the most effective combination of coating and substrate was TaC deposited by chemical vapor reaction method on AXF-5QI graphite.

Broadband low reflectance materials have various applications in the field of optical energy management; however, materials with ultra-low reflectance (below 0.1%) have been considered as mechanically delicate. We have developed a novel hard-surface optical absorber with microstructured, diamond-likecarboncoated ion tracks on CR-39 plastic substrate. The spectral reflectance of the first prototype was below 2% for wavelengths ranging from 400 nm to 1400 nm; moreover, the optical absorber had mechanically hard surface and exhibited temporal durability. Choosing the appropriate design of the surface structure and coating layer is likely to reduce the reflectance to the order of 0.1%. This technique yields easy-to-handle broadband ultra-low reflectance absorbers.

Nanoparticles for biomedical use must be cytocompatible with the biological environment that they are exposed to. Current research has focused on the surface functionalization of nanoparticles by using proteins, polymers, thiols and other organic compounds. Here we show that inorganic nanoparticles such as titanium oxide can be coated by pyrolytic carbon (PyC) and that the coating has cytocompatible properties. Pyrolization and condensation of methane formed a thin layer of pyrolytic carbon on the titanium oxide core. The formation of the PyC shell retards coalescence and sintering of the ceramic phase. Our MTT assay shows that the PyC-coated particles are cytocompatible at employed doses.

In this work, atomic layer deposition is applied to coatcarbon nanocoils with magnetic Fe(3)O(4) or Ni. The coatings have a uniform and highly controlled thickness. The coated nanocoils with coaxial multilayer nanostructures exhibit remarkably improved microwave absorption properties compared to the pristine carbon nanocoils. The enhanced absorption ability arises from the efficient complementarity between complex permittivity and permeability, chiral morphology, and multilayer structure of the products. This method can be extended to exploit other composite materials benefiting from its convenient control of the impedance matching and combination of dielectric-magnetic multiple loss mechanisms for microwave absorption applications. PMID:23171130

A new way of improving the oxidative behavior of carbon fibers coated with SiC through Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition technique. The complete study includes coating of SiC on glass slab and Stainless steel specimen as a starting test subjects but the major focus was to increase the oxidation temperature of carbon fibers by PECVD technique. This method uses relatively lower substrate temperature and guarantees better stoichiometry than other coating methods and hence the substrate shows higher resistance towards mechanical and thermal stresses along with increase in oxidation temperature.

In icosahedral carbon nanoparticles, the diamond-like core can undergo a reversible topological transition into and coexist coherently with the onion shells. The general approach for describing and designing complex hierarchical icosahedral structures is discussed. Structural models of icosahedral carbon nanoparticles in which the local arrangement of atoms is virtually identical to that in diamond are derived. It is shown that icosahedral diamond-like particles can be transformed into onion-like shell structures (and vice versa) by the consecutive smoothing (puckering) of atomic networks without disturbance of their topological integrity. The possibility of coherent coexistence of icosahedral diamond-like core with onion shells is shown.

The electrochemical behavior and anticorrosion properties of modified carbon black (CB) nanoparticles in epoxy coatings were investigated in accelerated conditions. Nanoparticles of CB were modified by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant. Dispersion of nanoparticles into epoxy was confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The accelerated condition was prepared at 65 °C. CB nanoparticles improved corrosion resistance of the epoxy coating. The optimum concentration of CB in the epoxy coating was 0.75 wt%. Results showed that the CB hinder the corrosion due to its barrier properties. CB can decrease the diffusion coefficient of water in the coating with filling the micropores.

Optical ultrasound transducers were created by coating optical fibres with a composite of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Dissolution of CNTs in PDMS to create the composite was facilitated by functionalisation with oleylamine. Composite surfaces were applied to optical fibres using dip coating. Under pulsed laser excitation, ultrasound pressures of 3.6 MPa and 4.5 MPa at the coated end faces were achieved with optical fibre core diameters of 105 and 200 μm, respectively. The results indicate that CNT-PDMS composite coatings on optical fibres could be viable alternatives to electrical ultrasound transducers in miniature ultrasound imaging probes.

It has been observed that single walled carbon nanotube field effect transistors (SWNT-FET) coated with glycine can be used as alcohol sensors. The original semiconducting glycine-coated SWNT-FET have been changed to be metalic in the presence of alcohol. Using ab initio density functional theory, we compute the structural and electronic properties of carbon nanotubes coated with glycine in the absence or in the presence of alcohol (Isopropanol) to investigate alcohol sensing mechanism. To demonstrate specificity of such glycine-coated SWNT-FETs on alcohol, we also study those properties in the presence of other molecules, such as acetone and water. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of an external fields on glycine-coated SWNT with IPA, and indentify the gate-electric-field screening in SWNT-FET to be a major role for alcohol sensing.

We report the synthesis of ultrathin carboncoatings on polycrystalline LiFePO4 via solution deposition and subsequent annealing. The annealing temperature was systematically investigated with polymer systems on LiFePO4 nanostructures. The crystal structures, sizes, and morphologies were monitored and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Micro-Raman and TEM were used to interrogate the carboncoatings after heat-treatments. Electrochemical performance of coated materials was investigated by cyclic voltammograms (CVs) and galvanostatic charge-discharge analysis. The olivine structured LiFePO4 remained stable up to 600 °C but underwent a rapid reduction reaction from LiFePO4 to Fe2P above 700 °C. The good compatibility between polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the surface of LiFePO4 enabled the formation of core-shell structure, which was transformed into a thin carboncoating on LiFePO4 after annealing. Both PEG and sucrose carbon-based sources yielded high-quality carboncoatings after annealing, as determined by the graphitic/disordered (G/D) ratios of 1.30 and 1.20, respectively. By producing more uniform and coherent coatings on LiFePO4 particles, batteries with significantly less carbon (i.e., 0.41 wt %) were fabricated and demonstrated comparable performance to traditionally synthesized carbon-coated LiFePO4 with higher carbon loadings (ca. 2.64 wt %). This will enable development of batteries with higher active material loading and therefore significantly larger energy densities. PMID:25387242

Kitchen oils (olive, soybean and butter) are selected for carboncoatings on LiFePO 4. The surface properties of LiFePO 4 are unknown or vary depending on synthetic methods. The multi-functional groups of fatty acids in the oils can orient properly to cope with the variable surface properties of LiFePO 4, which can lead to dense carboncoatings. The low price and low toxicity of kitchen oils are other advantages of the coating process. LiFePO 4 (D 50 = 121 nm)combined with the carboncoating enhances the rate capability. Capacities at the 2 C rate reach 150 mAh g -1 or higher. The charge retention values of 2.0 C/0.2 C are between 94.4 and 98.9%.

Extracorporeal filter cartridges, filled with an activated carbon bead (ACB) adsorbent, have been used for removal of overdosed cancer drugs from the blood. Coatings on adsorbent matrices, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/activated carbon bead and PMMA/chitosan/heparin/ACB composites, were tested to improve their biocompatibility and blood compatibility. PMMA coating on ACBs was accomplished in a straightforward manner using a PMMA solution in ethyl acetate. A one-step hybrid coating of ACBs with PMMA-anticoagulant heparin required the use of acetone and water co-solvents. Multilayer coatings with three components, PMMA, chitosan, and heparin, involved three steps: PMMA was first coated on ACBs; chitosan was then coated on the PMMA-coated surface; and finally, heparin was covalently attached to the chitosan coating. Surface morphologies were studied by scanning electron microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the -SO(3)(-) group. Adsorption, of a chemotherapy drug (doxorubicin) from both water and phosphate-buffered saline, by the coated ACBs was examined. The adsorption isotherm curves were fitted using the Freundlich model. The current adsorption system might find potential applications in the removal of high-dose regional chemotherapy drugs while maintaining high efficiency, biocompatibility, and blood compatibility. PMID:22313019

CrCN-DLC composite coatings were deposited onto silicon (1 0 0) and cemented carbides substrates using pure Cr targets under C2H2 ambient by cathodic arc ion plating system. The influence of C2H2 flow rate on the structure and mechanical properties of the coatings was investigated systemically. The coatings structure and bonding state were characterized by XRD, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemical composition was measured by EDS. The mechanical performance and tribological behaviour of the coatings were studied by a hardness tester and ball-on-disc wear tester. The results showed that with increasing C2H2 flow rate from 50 to 100 sccm, the corresponding hardness of coatings increased firstly and then decreased with further addition of C2H2 flow rate. The coatings deposited at lower C2H2 flow rate (less than 200 sccm) exhibited a relatively higher hardness value (more than HV0.0252000) and then the hardness decrease with increasing C2H2 flow rate. The friction coefficient also exhibited similar variation trend, when the C2H2 flow rate was higher than 100 sccm, the friction coefficient decreased and then maintained in a relatively lower value from 0.18 to 0.24, which may be attribute to the increasing carbon content and the coating exhibited more diamond-like structure.

Performance of graphite foil electrodes coated by porous carbon black (i.e., Vulcan) was investigated in comparison with metal electrodes for reverse electrodialysis (RED) application. The electrode slurry that was used for fabrication of the porous carbon-coated graphite foil is composed of 7.2 wt% of carbon black (Vulcan X-72), 0.8 wt% of a polymer binder (polyvinylidene fluoride, PVdF), and 92.0 wt% of a mixing solvent (dimethylacetamide, DMAc). Cyclic voltammograms of both the porous carbon (i.e., Vulcan)-coated graphite foil electrode and the graphite foil electrode without Vulcan showed good reversibility in the hexacyanoferrate(III) (i.e., Fe(CN)63-) and hexacyanoferrate(II) (i.e., Fe(CN)64-) redox couple and 1 M Na2SO4 at room temperature. However, anodic and cathodic current of the Vulcan-coated graphite foil electrode was much higher than those of the graphite foil electrode. Using a bench-scale RED stack, the current-voltage polarization curve of the Vulcan-coated graphite electrode was compared to that of metal electrodes such as iridium (Ir) and platinum (Pt). From the results, it was confirmed that resistance of four different electrodes increased with the following order: the Vulcan-coated graphite foilcoated titanium (Ti) meshcoated Ti platecoated graphite foil showed 5-10% higher power density than the metal mesh electrodes. From the polarization curve of the Vulcan-coated graphite foil electrode, it was found that total resistance decreased as thickness and geometric surface area of the electrode increased.

Stiction and friction are of concern for the reliable, long-term application of Ni-alloy micromachines. We have found that the application of a 30-70 nm hard carboncoating produces a significant reduction in the friction coefficient and wear rate of electroformed Ni substrates in reciprocating sliding contact under simulated MEMS operating conditions. To evaluate the performance of coated components, a series of 70-pm-thick microgears ranging in diameter from 0.2 to 2.2 mm were fabricated from electroformed Ni via standard LIGA processes and fixtured on posts in preparation for the coating procedure. A pulsed vacuum- arc deposition process was used to deposit a carboncoating on the gears with the plasma incident at a shallow angle to the gears' top surface. A sample bias of -2 keV was used in order to produce a coating with relatively low stress and good adhesion while maintaining high hardness. This coating process is known to be somewhat comformal to the component surfaces. The coating uniformity, particularly in the high-aspect-ratio areas between the gear teeth, was evaluated with micro-Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the coating can be applied uniformly on the top gear surface. Between the gear teeth the coating was the same thickness as on top of the gear down to a point 50 ~m below the top surface. Below that point (i.e. between 50 and 70 Lm), the coating thickness is somewhat thinner, but is still present. These results demonstrate that it is possible to a deposit hard carboncoating on microgears to reduce friction and wear in micromachines.

Carbon-coated GaN hollow nanospindles with uniform morphology and good structural stability are facilely prepared by nitridizing solid carbon-coated GaOOH nanospindles in an ammonia atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h. The carbon nanocoating acts as a nanoreactor which not only preserves the spindle-like morphology, but also prevents the growth of GaN particles during the thermal treatment. The significant advantage is that the hollow nanostructures so obtained exhibit superior resistance to distortion, collapse, and shrinkage.Carbon-coated GaN hollow nanospindles with uniform morphology and good structural stability are facilely prepared by nitridizing solid carbon-coated GaOOH nanospindles in an ammonia atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h. The carbon nanocoating acts as a nanoreactor which not only preserves the spindle-like morphology, but also prevents the growth of GaN particles during the thermal treatment. The significant advantage is that the hollow nanostructures so obtained exhibit superior resistance to distortion, collapse, and shrinkage. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Detailed experimental procedures, additional SEM images and XRD patterns. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr06274k

Fundamental research is proposed to investigate the role of calcium carbonate grain coatings on the vadose zone chemical reactivity of key Hanford contaminants (i.e., 60Co2+, 90Sr2+, CrO42-, and 99TcO4-). Calcium carbonate is widely distributed through the Hanford vadose zone as...

Hierarchical SnO2 hollow spheres self-assembled from nanosheets were prepared with and without carboncoating. The combination of nanosized architecture, hollow structure, and a conductive carbon layer endows the SnO2 -based anode with improved specific capacity and cycling stability, making it more promising for use in lithium ion batteries. PMID:26888027

Owing to its combination of unique selectivity and mechanical strength, commercial carbon clad zirconia (C/ZrO2) has been widely used for many applications, including fast two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2DLC). However, the low surface area available (only 20 - 30 m2/g for commercial porous ZrO2) limits its retentivity. We have recently addressed this limitation by developing a carbon phase coated on the high surface area of HPLC grade alumina (C/Al2O3). This material provides higher retentivity and comparable selectivity, but its use is still limited by how few HPLC quality types of alumina particles (e.g., particle size, surface area, pore size) are available. In this work, we have developed useful carbon phases on silica particles, which are available in various particle sizes, pore sizes and forms of HPLC grade. To make the carbon phase on silica, we first treat the silica surface with a monolayer or less of metal cations that bind to deprotonated silanols to provide catalytic sites for carbon deposition. After Al (III) treatment, a carbon phase is formed on the silica surface by chemical vapor deposition at 700 °C using hexane as the carbon source. The amount of Al (III) on the surface was varied to assess its effect on carbon deposition, and the carbon loading was varied at different Al (III) levels to assess its effect on the chromatographic properties of the various carbon adsorbents. We observed that use of a concentration of Al (III) corresponding to a full monolayer leads to the most uniform carboncoating. A carboncoating sufficient to cover all the Al (III) sites, required about 4 – 5 monolayers in this work, provided the best chromatographic performance. The resulting carbon phases behave as reversed phases with reasonable efficiency (50,000 – 79,000 plates/meter) for non-aromatic test species. PMID:21295308

In this study, we examine bacterial attachment and survival on a titanium (Ti) cathode coated with various carbon nanomaterials (CNM): pristine carbon nanotubes (CNT), oxidized carbon nanotubes (O-CNT), oxidized-annealed carbon nanotubes (OA-CNT), carbon black (CB), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The carbon nanomaterials were dispersed in an isopropyl alcohol-Nafion solution and were then used to dip-coat a Ti substrate. Pseudomonas fluorescens was selected as the representative bacterium for environmental biofouling. Experiments in the absence of an electric potential indicate that increased nanoscale surface roughness and decreased hydrophobicity of the CNM coating decreased bacterial adhesion. The loss of bacterial viability on the noncharged CNM coatings ranged from 22% for CB to 67% for OA-CNT and was dependent on the CNM dimensions and surface chemistry. For electrochemical experiments, the total density and percentage of inactivation of the adherent bacteria were analyzed semiquantitatively as functions of electrode potential, current density, and hydrogen peroxide generation. Electrode potential and hydrogen peroxide generation were the dominant factors with regard to short-term (3-h) bacterial attachment and inactivation, respectively. Extended-time electrochemical experiments (12 h) indicated that in all cases, the density of total deposited bacteria increased almost linearly with time and that the rate of bacterial adhesion was decreased 8- to 10-fold when an electric potential was applied. In summary, this study provides a fundamental rationale for the selection of CNM as cathode coatings and electric potential to reduce microbial fouling. PMID:25956770

Carboncoating has proven to be a successful approach toimprove the rate capability of LiFePO4 used in rechargeable Li-ionbatteries. Investigations of the microstructure of carboncoated LiFePO4after charge discharge cycling shows that the carbon surface layerremains intact over 100 cycles. We find micro cracks in the cycledmaterial that extend parallel to low indexed lattice planes. Ourobservations differ from observations made by other authors. However thedifferences between the orientations of crack surfaces in both studiescan be reconciled considering the location of weak bonds in the unit celland specimen geometry as well as elastic stress fields ofdislocation.

This study introduced a green method to prepare antistatic polyester (PET) fabrics by plasma pretreatment and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) coating. The influences of plasma conditions and SWCNT coating parameters on antistatic property of PET fabrics were investigated. PET fabrics were pretreated under various plasma conditions such as different treatment times, output powers and working gases, and then SWCNT coating on the plasma treated PET fabrics was carried out by coating-dry-cure using various coating parameters including different SWCNT concentrations, curing times and curing temperatures. PET fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and volume resistivity. SEM and XPS analysis of the plasma treated PET fabrics revealed the increase in surface roughness and oxygen/nitrogen containing groups on the PET fiber surface. SEM and XPS analysis of the plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabrics indicated the SWCNT coating on PET fiber surface. The plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabrics exhibited a good antistatic property, which increased and then decreased with the increasing plasma treatment time and output power. The antistatic property of the O2 plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabric was better and worse than that of N2 or Ar plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabric in the shorter treatment time and the longer treatment time, respectively. In addition, the antistatic property of the plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabrics also increased with the increasing SWCNT concentration, curing time and curing temperature in the range studied. Plasma conditions and SWCNT coating parameters had signally influence on the antistatic property of plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabrics. Therefore, adequate parameters should be carefully selected for the optimum antistatic property of the plasma treated and SWCNT coated PET fabrics.

Amorphous carbon incorporated with titanium (a-C:Ti) was coated on 316L stainless steel (SS) by magnetron sputtering technique to attain superior tribological properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The morphology, topography and functional groups of the nanostructured a-C:Ti coatings in various concentrations were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman and XPS analyses confirmed the increase in sp2 bonds with increasing titanium content in the a-C matrix. TEM analysis confirmed the composite nature of the coating and the presence of nanostructured TiC for Ti content of 2.33 at.%. This coating showed superior tribological properties compared to the other a-C:Ti coatings. Furthermore, electrochemical corrosion studies were performed against stimulated body fluid medium in which all the a-C:Ti coatings showed improved corrosion resistance than the pure a-C coating. Preosteoblasts proliferation and viability on the specimens were tested and the results showed that a-C:Ti coatings with relatively high Ti (3.77 at.%) content had better biocompatibility. Based on the results of this work, highly durable coatings with good biocompatibility could be achieved by incorporation of optimum amount of Ti in a-C coatings deposited on SS by magnetron sputtering technique.

Degradation of epoxy coatings with and without Carbon Black (CB) nanoparticles under ultraviolet (UV) radiation were investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used to obtain a good dispersion of CB nanoparticles in a polymer matrix. TEM analysis proved a uniform dispersion of modified CB nanoparticles in epoxy coating. The coatings were subjected to UV radiation to study the degradation behavior and then immersed in 3.5 wt% NaCl. The results showed that the electrochemical behavior of neat epoxy coating was related to the formation and development of microcracks on the surface. The occurrence of microcracks on the surface of the coatings and consequently the penetration of ionic species reduced by adding CB nanoparticles into the formulation of the coatings. CB nanoparticles decreased degradation of CB coatings by absorbing UV irradiation. The ATR-FTIR results showed that decrease in the intensity of methyl group as main peak in presence of 2.5 wt% CB was lower than neat epoxy. In addition, the reduction in impedance of neat epoxy coating under corrosive environment was larger than CB coatings. The CB coating with 2.5 wt% nanoparticles had the highest impedance to corrosive media after 2000 h UV irradiation and 24 h immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl.

Tungsten-coatedcarbon and copper was prepared by vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) and inert gas plasma spraying (IPS), respectively. W/CFC (Tungsten/Carbon Fiber-Enhanced material) coating has a diffusion barrier that consists of W and Re multi-layers pre-deposited by physical vapor deposition on carbon fiber-enhanced materials, while W/Cu coating has a graded transition interface. Different grain growth processes of tungsten coatings under stable and transient heat loads were observed, their experimental results indicated that the recrystallizing temperature of VPS-W coating was about 1400 °C and a recrystallized columnar layer of about 30 μm thickness was formed by cyclic heat loads of 4 ms pulse duration. Erosion and modifications of W/CFC and W/Cu coatings under high heat load, such as microstructure changes of interface, surface plastic deformations and cracks, were investigated, and the erosion mechanism (erosion products) of these two kinds of tungsten coatings under high heat flux was also studied.

Cribriform sheet-like carbon-coated ZnO are prepared using pyrrole as the carbon source. It is found that a sheet-like precursor will form when polymerizing pyrrole in the presence of ZnO particles. After the carbonization of precursor, cribriform sheet-like carbon-coated ZnO can be obtained. Morphology and structure analysis of as-prepared carbon-coated ZnO is conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The carbon overlayer not only present a barrier layer on the surface of the ZnO particles, which keeps relative high discharge capacity by inhibiting the active materials in electrode from dissolving into electrolyte, but also modify the surface status of ZnO particles so as to obtain more uniform current distribution and improved conductivity. As a result, when evaluated as an anode material for Zn/Ni cell, carbon-coated ZnO exhibit a more stable cycle performance than bare ZnO electrode.

Microarc oxidation (MAO) treatment produces a thick Al2O3 coating on the 15SiCp/2024 aluminum matrix composite. After pretreatment of Ti ion implantation, a thin diamond-likecarbon film (DLC) was deposited on the top of polished Al2O3 coating by a pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition system with a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) source. The morphology and tribological properties of the duplex Al2O3/DLC multiplayer coating were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SRV ball-on-disk friction tester. It is found that the duplex Al2O3/DLC coating had good adhesion and a low friction coefficient of less than 0.07. As compared to a single Al2O3 or DLC coating, the duplex Al2O3/DLC coating on aluminum matrix composite exhibited a better wear resistance against ZrO2 ball under dry sliding, because the Al2O3 coating as an intermediate layer improved load support for the top DLC coating on 15SiCp/2024 composite substrate, meanwhile the top DLC coating displayed low friction coefficient.

In this investigation, carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced aluminum composites were prepared by the molecular-level mixing process using copper coated CNTs. The mixing of CNTs was accomplished by ultrasonic mixing and ball milling. Electroless Cu-coated CNTs were used to enhance the interfacial bonding between CNTs and aluminum. Scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the homogenous dispersion of Cu-coated CNTs in the composite samples compared with the uncoated CNTs. The samples were pressureless sintered under vacuum followed by hot rolling to promote the uniform microstructure and dispersion of CNTs. In 1.0 wt.% uncoated and Cu-coated CNT/Al composites, compared to pure Al, the microhardness increased by 44% and 103%, respectively. As compared to the pure Al, for 1.0 wt.% uncoated CNT/Al composite, increase in yield strength and ultimate tensile strength was estimated about 58% and 62%, respectively. However, in case of 1.0 wt.% Cu-coated CNT/Al composite, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength were increased significantly about 121% and 107%, respectively. - Graphical Abstract: Copper coated CNTs were synthesized by the electroless plating process. Optimizing the plating bath to (1:1) by wt CNTs with Cu, thickness of Cu-coated CNTs has been reduced to 100 nm. Cu-coated CNTs developed the stronger interfacial bonding with the Al matrix which resulted in the efficient transfer of load. Highlights: • Copper coated CNTs were synthesized by the electroless plating process. • Thickness of Cu-coated CNTs has been reduced to 100 nm by optimized plating bath. • In 1.0 wt.% Cu-coated CNT/Al composite, microhardness increased by 103%. • Cu-coated CNTs transfer load efficiently with stronger interfacial bonding. • In 1.0 wt.% Cu-coated CNT/Al composite, Y.S and UTS increased by 126% and 105%.

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is widely distributed through the Hanford vadose zone as a minor phase. As a result of current and past geochemical processes, CaCO3 exists as grain coatings, intergrain fill, and distinct caliche layers in select locations. Calcium carbonate may also precipitate when high-level wastes react with naturally Ca- and Mg-saturated Hanford sediments. Calcium carbonate is a very reactive mineral phase. Sorption reactions on its surface may slow the migration of certain contaminants (Co, Sr), but its surface coatings on other mineral phases may diminish contaminant retardation (for example, Cr) by blocking surface reaction sites of the substrate. This project explores the behavior of calcium carbonate grain coatings, including how they form and dissolve, their reactivity toward key Hanford contaminants, their impact (as surface coatings) on the reactivity of other mineral substrates, and on their in-ground composition and minor element enrichment. The importance of CaCO3 as a contaminant sorbent will be defined in all of its different manifestations in Hanford sediments: dispersed minor lithic fragments, pedogenic carbonatecoatings on gravel and stringers in silt, and nodules in clay and paleosols. Mass action models will be developed that allow understanding and prediction of the geochemical effects of CaCO3 on contaminant retardation in Hanford sediments.

Diamondlikecarbon (DLC) is applied as a thin film onto substrates to obtain desired surface properties such as increased hardness and corrosion resistance, and decreased friction and wear rate. Microdimple is an advanced surface modification technique enhancing the tribological performance. In this study, DLC coated microdimples were fabricated on hip prosthesis heads and their mechanical, material and surface properties were characterized. An Electro discharge machining (EDM) oriented microdrilling was utilized to fabricate a defined microdimple array (diameter of 300 µm, depth of 70 µm, and pitch of 900 µm) on stainless steel (SS) hip prosthesis heads. The dimpled surfaces were then coated by hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (Ta-C) layers by using a magnetron sputtering technology. A preliminary tribology test was conducted on these fabricated surfaces against a ceramic ball in simulated hip joint conditions. It was found that the fabricated dimples were perpendicular to the spherical surfaces and no cutting-tools wear debris was detected inside the individual dimples. The a-C:H and Ta-C coatings increased the hardness at both the dimple edges and the nondimpled region. The tribology test showed a significant reduction in friction coefficient for coated surfaces regardless of microdimple arrays: the lowest friction coefficient was found for the a-C:H samples (µ = 0.084), followed by Ta-C (µ = 0.119), as compared to the SS surface (µ = 0.248). PMID:25220737

In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers coated with different thicknesses of Ni-P coatings were studied. The coatings were deposited by electroless metallization lasting from 3 to 22 min and consisted of approximately 3 wt.% phosphorous. Computer quantitative image analysis was used to characterize the surface features and thickness of the coatings as a function of the time of metallization. The results showed that quantitative image analysis is a useful technique for the measurement of the coating thickness and can be used as a tool for obtaining an innovative description of the Ni-P coating morphology. The morphology of the coatings and their thicknesses were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The image analyses were performed using the proprietary software Micrometer, developed at the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology. The observations revealed that a specific feature of the coating topography is the hemispherical bulge of a diameter ranging from 0.1 to 10 μm. The thickness of the coatings increases linearly with the metallization time. The obtained results indicated that the methodology proposed in the present work can be successfully applied and possesses several advantages over the traditionally used weight measurements technique.

A program was conducted to evaluate the performance of topcoated and untopcoated zinc-rich coatings. Sacrificial coatings of this type are required for protecting carbon steel structures from the aggressive KSC sea coast environment. A total of 59 commercially available zinc-rich coatings and 47 topcoated materials were exposed for an 18-month period. Test panels were placed in special racks placed approximately 30.5 m (100 feet) above the high tide line at the KSC Corrosion Test Site. Laboratory tests to determine the temperature resistance, abrasion resistance, and adhesion of the untopcoated zinc-rich coatings were also performed. It has been concluded that: (1) The inorganic types of zinc-rich coatings are far superior to the organic types in the KSC environment. (2) Organic zinc-rich coatings applied at 0.1 - 0.15 mm (4-6 mils) film thickness provide better corrosion protection than when applied at the manufacturers' recommended nominal film thickness of .08 mm (3 mils). (3) Topcoats are not necessary, or even desirable, when used in conjunction with zinc-rich coatings in the KSC environment. (4) Some types of inorganic zinc-rich coatings require an extended outdoor weathering period in order to obtain adequate mechanical properties. and (5) A properly formulated inorganic zinc-rich coating is not affected by a 24-hour thermal exposure to 400 C (752 F).

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin film deposition technique that is based on alternating and saturating surface reactions of two or more gaseous precursors. The excellent conformality of ALD thin films can be exploited for sealing defects in coatings made by other techniques. Here the corrosion protection properties of hard CrN and diamond-likecarbon (DLC) coatings on low alloy steel were improved by ALD sealing with 50 nm thick layers consisting of Al2O3 and Ta2O5 nanolaminates or mixtures. In cross sectional images the ALD layers were found to follow the surface morphology of the CrN coatings uniformly. Furthermore, ALD growth into the pinholes of the CrN coating was verified. In electrochemical measurements the ALD sealing was found to decrease the current density of the CrN coated steel by over 2 orders of magnitude. The neutral salt spray (NSS) durability was also improved: on the best samples the appearance of corrosion spots was delayed from 2 to 168 h. On DLC coatings the adhesion of the ALD sealing layers was weaker, but still clear improvement in NSS durability was achieved indicating sealing of the pinholes. PMID:24428348

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was used to evaluate the performance of two doped polyanilines, PAN, in the emeraldine base form, EB, as protective coatings for carbon steel under immersion in 3.55% NaCl. Coatings A and B consisted of EB doped with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and with p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) respectively. The equivalent circuit R{sub e}(C{sub c}[R{sub c}(QR{sub 1})]) provided a satisfactory fit for the EIS data.

Nanostructured titanium carbide coatings have been deposited on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by the MOCVD method with bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dichloride precursor. The obtained TiC/MWCNT hybrid materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is established that a TiC coating deposits onto the MWCNT surface with the formation of a core-shell (MWSNT-TiC) type structure.

Laser infrared photothermal radiometry (PTR) was used to measure the thermophysical properties (thermal diffusivity and conductivity) of various thermal sprayed coatings on carbon steel. A one-dimensional photothermal model of a three-layered system in the backscattered mode was introduced and compared with experimental measurements. The uppermost layer was used to represent a roughness-equivalent layer, a second layer represented the substrate. The thermophysical parameters of thermal sprayed coatings examined in this work were obtained when a multiparameter-fit optimization algorithm was used with the backscattered PTR experimental results. The results also suggested a good method to determine the thickness of tungsten carbide and stainless-steel thermal spray coatings once the thermal physical properties are known. The ability of PTR to measure the thermophysical properties and the coating thickness has a strong potential as a method for in situ characterization of thermal spray coatings.